Howling Innocence
by Sanluris
Summary: OC possible AU-The Order hasn't moved yet in my story and some characters from the manga are absent. Shiori became an exorcist and has settled in at The Black Order but will she understand what her new job really requires?
1. Prologue

**Well, it's me, Sanluris and I present to you my first D.Gray-Man fanfiction story. I wanted to see if I could keep writing such a story, and I have thirteen chapters so far which tally up to eighty pages in Word. I am trying to avoid having my character become a Mary-Sue, for most self-inserts, they say, are Mary-Sues or Gary Stues. I suppose this story isn't really a self insert due to the fact that the character I am using is nothing like me, but I'll let all of you decide. Let me know if you'd like me to continue putting up chapters and writing them. Thanks for giving it a chance if so! I hope I describe things in a non-confusing way, but if most of you have read the manga you will probably know what I'm trying to describe (I hope, because I can be confusing sometimes). I dislike describing things sometimes...I can never find the right words. I apologize in advance for any grammar errors or other mistakes; I've checked over the chapters a few times but mistakes probably still evaded me. I don't mind constructive criticism but don't just leave me a review (if any) that says plainly "It sucked", or even "It's good"--if you could explain a bit for both of those I'd appreciate it. Well, with that said, on with the story, and I hope you'll enjoy it!**

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**Howling Innocence**

**Written by Sanluris**

_Prologue_

Dark clouds and a thick mist hung over an enormous, foreboding tower that was built on top of a round, flat piece of land. The land that the tower was built on was so tall that the tower rose high above the earth below. The flattened ground kept going for quite a ways, but suddenly disappeared and revealed that the land simply changed to a sharp, ninety degree drop.

The colossal tower had levels stacked on top of each other, with tall dark windows placed around the outside of each level. The highest level had large spires situated all around the top. To give a better mental picture, the tower could possibly be likened to a many-layered wedding cake...minus the icing, frosting roses, and fluffy inner layers.

The dark clouds overhead suddenly collided, which sent a bright flash of lightning across the sky, and in that instant, the cliff ledge which had been previously empty now had a black-furred paw flung over it. The creature it belonged to clung obstinately to the edge of the cliff, every muscle in its body straining hard to keep hold. Another paw made an appearance as the creature flung the appendage the paw was attached to up toward the edge of the cliff in a swift movement; this caused the creature's paws to almost slip free of the cliff edge, which would have sent it spiraling back down the cliff to its doom. Several times that had almost happened when parts of the cliff face had given way. The creature's paws flexed and dug their claws into the rocky ground of the cliff's ledge, and slowly but surely began to pull their owner up the side of the ninety-degree drop. Painstakingly, the beast's elbows lifted clear of the cliff edge, and then its barrel-shaped chest made it onto the flattened ground. Not soon enough the creature's back legs were scrabbling to get a hold on the rocky ground as it pulled its body free of the cliff and darted away from the dangerous area.

The rounded chest of the creature heaved as it panted from its ascension up the cliff. Its claws weren't meant for climbing, especially not directly up rocky cliffs, and now they were nearly torn out of their sockets and steadily leaking blood. The sticky crimson liquid also had begun to drip from the creature's chest and abdomen; the areas had been cut during the last struggle to pull free of the jagged cliff edge. Glancing back at the cliff, the creature bent down to lick her paws, which were crimson with blood. Only by digging its claws into indentations of the cliff or holding tightly onto small ledges had the creature been able to fight its way to the top of the cliff.

Doubtless, this was the first time a wolf had dared to climb a cliff like this with seemingly little reason. The castle the wolf was heading to wasn't inhabited by others like her. No—this place was only filled with exorcists and other humans who aided the exorcists. She was only looking for one of them...someone who went by the name of Komui. But she had to get inside first. Limping slightly, the beast started to pad forward towards the not-as-of-yet towering doors that would, with luck, grant her entrance to the place. If the Gatekeeper gave her any trouble, it probably wouldn't be very hard to break past him—the information she'd gathered about the Gatekeeper had been enough to confirm her previous thoughts that he was a pretty jumpy individual. Although it'd be best if it didn't come to a fight before the creature could even get inside—if the Gatekeeper that was now stretching imposingly over her pointed ears got tipped off even a little bit he would send up a wailing that would put the whole castle on alert...and that was something she could do without, thank you very much. Two massive, midnight black doors with four black crosses on the top and bottom sections that were separated by rivets on either side greeted her, and as she expected, they were nestled on the left and right of the huge face that currently had blanked out white eyes. Staring at them, the wolf realized that the eyes reminded her of the half windows that sometimes decorated churches. The Gatekeeper's mouth was shaped like an overturned boat, which made the thing's expression look ghastly and gave one the impression it had seen something that thoroughly disturbed it. With a put-off sniff the wolf noted that the facial makeup of the Gatekeeper made him look like he'd acquired a double chin somewhere along the way.

The female wolf sat her bottom down in a quick movement and let out a loud, harsh bark to alert the Gatekeeper that someone wanted to come in and meet with the head supervisor. When a minute passed and nothing had happened, she barked again with increased volume. When there was still no response came from the doors she set up a cacophony of shrill barks and growls. Her teeth were bared when the Gatekeeper finally responded, turned his panicked and meek eyes on her, and blinked once. "Hm?" The Gatekeeper yawned and the wolf shuddered and coughed as the boat-shaped mouth opened wide and sent a strong gust of breath over her. "Oh, look, it's a puppy."

_..._

"What are you doing in a place like this?"

_I need to see the Supervisor! Why didn't I think of this beforehand...let me in._ The wolf hoped her eyes would convey that she wanted to get inside, but she was hoping for too much.

"Are you lost?" The Gatekeeper asked.

_Oh, sure, someone lost would scale a cliff that high; makes perfect sense._

"Oh, maybe you want to come in, doggy?" The big head questioned, still confused as to why a dog was at the Black Order. The wolf's ears perked as she got an idea.

_He thinks I'm a dog, I'll act like a dog,_ she thought as she lifted a mutilated paw and scratched it lightly across the surface of the black door. Some of the blood from her paws smeared across the surface of the door and showed up startlingly well against the deep black.

"What's wrong, doggy? What is that?" The wolf leapt back with a startled bark as the Gatekeeper shoved its face down closer to the spot she'd scratched. "Blood!?" Nothing the wolf could have done, seeing as how she couldn't speak or use human sign or body language to convey that she wasn't an Akuma, could have stopped the Gatekeeper's massive freak out session. "ALERT! ALERT!! MURDER! VIOLENT AKUMA WOLF AT THE ORDER!! ALERRRRTT!!" The wolf's gracefully pointed ears seemed to vanish as she flattened them tightly against her head to shield against the shrill alarms that suddenly started blaring. She heard air rushing above her and jumped back just in time to avoid being impaled by a glowing blue sword, but she couldn't focus fully on the swordsman who owned it because she had to immediately dodge again to avoid being torn open by thin, sharp claws.

_And all hell breaks loose._

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**Author's Note: To any who were wondering, no, I'm not giving Allen or Kanda or anyone else in The Order a pet, and again no, this wolf isn't a werewolf. That's all I'm going to say for now...you'll find out more if you read the next bit. Hopefully you thought it was good enough to continue reading. This is my first D. Gray Man story so no wild bashing please, just criticisms that will help me make the story better and easier to understand. Hopefully some encouraging comments will be included as well though. It's my first D. Gray Man story and I'm also a learning writer. I wanted to put a story up that I was happy with, since all the other ones I'm writing aren't very sure where they're going. Review, if you'd be so kind. Let me know what's good and what I need to improve on, and definitely let me know of the many mistakes I'm sure are there somewhere. I probably will read this story over and over before I actually post it, but might overlook some things, so let me know of mistakes if you have the time. There's just one other D.Gray-Man fanfic out there, by Ookami Gekkani, that has a wolf exorcist. For that story, and any other stories that are possibly out there, any similarities are unintentional. I wanted to write a D.Gray-Man fanfic that had an exorcist that could shape-shift to an extent because I'm interested in that sort of fantasy...I'd definitely apply to be an Animagus in the Harry Potter universe XD And I loved the game Okami, it was an awesome game. I think I was inspired by those two things but I am not going to make any more similarities than shape-shifting and animals that fight monsters if I can help it. I just searched around in my brain and sifted through ideas, trying not to have an overused idea...and I arrived at wolf. I could have done a kitty or killer bunny exorcist but that might have been silly. '**

**Bai for now!**

**-Sanluris**


	2. Admittance

Chapter One: Admittance

"Huh--? Hold on...Gatekeeper, this isn't an Akuma! I can't see its soul. And it looks like a run-of-the-mill wolf although...I don't know how it managed to get up here." Despite the screeching of the Gatekeeper and wailing of the alarms inside the building the wolf pricked her ears up with interest as she heard what the white-haired exorcist had just said. He could see the souls of Akuma? Lucky that a special exorcist came by or her bloody aftermath might have been spread all over the place.

"But...there was blood..." The Gatekeeper whined, still looking at the spot where blood had been smeared onto the black door on his left. The swordsman kept his eyes on the wolf while the white haired exorcist glanced over at the door. He stared back at the wolf and had an expression stuck between worry and uncertainty.

"Kanda, I'm going to get closer to it." The so-called 'Kanda' snorted and kept his glowing sword at the ready.

"Whatever, Moyashi, but don't expect me to save you if it attacks."

'Moyashi' glared at the swordsman and lowered his black clawed hand. The odd thing the wolf had noticed was that, even though the majority of the exorcist's skin was fair, his left hand just past the elbow was completely dark. It was as if he'd gotten a terrible burn, yet the area appeared smooth, like the rest of his skin. He faced the wolf and started to creep forward towards it, his right hand extended as he spoke calmly and slowly. "You're not an Akuma, right? But you can't be a normal wolf if you got all the way up here." At first, the wolf crouched aggressively, then raised its hackles and bared gleaming white teeth. A faint growl made its way to the white haired exorcist's ears. Kanda gripped his sword and prepared to kill the creature if it attacked; even if it wasn't an Akuma he didn't want it hanging around here. The Japanese exorcist had never been an animal person. Kanda didn't truly care if the wolf attacked, but if Moyashi was attacked and/or killed by the wolf, Komui and the rest of the Order would chew his ears off. But instead of attacking the Moyashi, Kanda saw the black-furred wolf calming down for reasons unknown. He-she-it was actually letting Moyashi get closer without baring its fangs or growling.

Allen knelt a couple feet away from the wolf and reached his right hand out. He stopped halfway to the wolf's muzzle, but continued to reach for it when the animal didn't react negatively to him being so close. Finally he patted her muzzle and went on to stroke it on the side of its head. The wolf's fur was matted and tangled around broken bits of tree branches that he observed had probably come from the old trees that grew around the tower. Interestingly the beast's black fur still felt soft even though it appeared to be a bit dirty and matted. He smiled warmly when the wolf lowered its ears and closed its eyes as he stroked the side of its face. A contented whine came from the wolf's mouth and he laughed. "Feels good, huh?" The wolf sighed as if saying, 'Damn straight'.

"Are you done, Moyashi? The whole Order's on alert. We need to tell them that it's nothing and that _someone_—" the swordsman turned to the Gatekeeper and sent him a glare that would have killed even a phoenix permanently, "overreacted. Again. Just like when you came." Allen whipped around sharply and sent his comrade a glare of his own, which although wasn't as deadly, still held lethal intent.

"Shut up, ba—KANDA!" Allen yelled as his left eye suddenly activated and spotted an Akuma's soul even in the gloomy darkness. It was a Level one, cannon type, but of course it could and would cause damage if they let it roam around. To Allen's vast astonishment, before Kanda could whip Mugen up to slice the Akuma in half, the wolf beside him raised its head and formed its mouth in a circle. The next thing he heard was an urgent, yet confident, howl erupt from the wolf's throat. He stared in wonder as the Akuma let out an unearthly, agonized wail and exploded in a burst of yellow light. The smoke and dust cleared and Kanda was standing ten feet away from where he'd originally been standing—the exorcist had jumped away just as the Akuma exploded to avoid being caught up in the aftermath.

Mugen was in front of his face, still glowing, but once Kanda saw that the Akuma was gone and that no more were around, or seemed to be appearing, he sheathed Mugen and gave his trademark, "Che." Without another word the swordsman stalked off towards the Gatekeeper and glowered at the still-quivering face. "Are you going to open up or do I have to make you?" He growled. The Gatekeeper stammered a few seconds before looking towards Allen and the wolf.

"B—but, w-what about that?" Kanda looked over, uninterested, at the two and noticed something glowing over by them. His rare curiosity won out and he sprinted over to the duo and stared. Directly over the wolf's throat and glowing under the black fur was a dim green light, the same neon green as the cubes of Innocence and the energy given off by equipped and parasitic Innocence, except Kanda's, which glowed blue. Allen and Kanda both blinked once at the same time as the realization of things dawned on them. Allen was the first to turn his thoughts into words.

"Could this be....an exorcist?"

The wolf barked excitedly, threw her forelegs over Allen's shoulders, and began wagging her tail.

_Finally, I'm in! And forget this._

The wolf leapt clear of Allen, then bent to sniff his left hand. Allen thought that she was either interested in his hand because of the Innocence or wanted to be petted again, but he didn't expect her to bite his hand so hard that it felt like she was trying to tear a chunk out of it. He began to panic slightly, wondering if she was dangerous after all but he froze, startled by what happened next. Bright green light shone from both of them; first the wolf's throat began shining an even brighter green and Allen's left arm responded in the same way. The light then vanished in a brief flash. The wolf opened her jaws and let Allen's hand fall free; he winced and rubbed it, but found that there were no bite marks or even blood. Kanda seemed sadistically amused, while the wolf looked honestly apologetic for biting Allen.

"Why bite me if you're going to be sorry about it?!" Allen exclaimed irately, still rubbing his left hand. Kanda gave him a look and appeared to be playing with the idea of locating the nearest insane asylum.

"You're strange, Moyashi."

"Shut the—" the wolf suddenly barked impatiently, wanting to go inside the tower instead of listening to an argument—"up, BaKanda!"

**Author's Note: And there you have it: the wolf meeting two exorcists in The Black Order and realizing that her bark is a natural censor. More hilarity/annoyance/fun is sure to follow. This is set after the events in the Ark and the Level Four Akuma break-in but before Lavi and Kanda are Chibi-fied, and before people in The Order are turned into zombies. I have a favor to ask. My knowledge of D. Gray-Man is probably kind of bad, so if anyone spots mistakes in this story's plot let me know. I've read the first volume in the D. Gray-Man manga, have read recent pages of the manga online, and watched up to Episode 103 of the anime. This is the first manga/anime that I've kept up with for so long (others I usually lost interest with) but I still could have made errors somewhere so if any of you happen to spot them let me know if you would while reviewing, please. :) I'm not trying to be lazy, honestly ^^; Thanks for reading!**


	3. Komui the Vet

Chapter Two: Veterinarian

Allen and Kanda got quite a few stares from exorcists and researchers alike as they walked down the hall to Komui's office. The wolf was padding beside Allen, and though her light steps and slightly wagging tail seemed to convey that she was calm, Allen could tell she was feeling a little tense and wary, because whenever someone passed them her muscles bunches up and she didn't take her eyes off of the passerby until they'd gone out of sight. The alarms had been shut off but the whole Order seemed to know that something was still amiss, for rarely had animals entered the Black Order. "Here's Komui's office," Allen explained to the wolf, whose dark eyes gazed up at him, and the creature actually seemed to nod a little. Kanda pushed the door open and scoffed at the younger exorcist.

"Don't talk to it, Moyashi, I doubt it can understand half of what you say."

He turned sharply and glared down at the wolf as it growled crossly at him. "Damn wolf," he hissed, which earned him another sharp growl. Allen slid past Kanda and entered Komui's office. The wolf sashayed mockingly past Kanda into the office, shoving his legs hard as it did so. Kanda stumbled only slightly and gave his trademark scowl as he grudgingly followed the two inside. When the three reached what they thought was Komui's desk (it was almost buried in a mound of papers, so if anyone was sitting at it they weren't visible) they stopped.

"Hey, are you here, stupid supervisor?" Kanda snapped, just wanting to leave the idiot Moyashi and damn wolf with Komui and let him deal with it. The Japanese exorcist hated when new exorcists arrived; they were just a lot of fuss about nothing, and half of the new exorcists that joined died anyway, so Kanda didn't care about them much.

"Ah, Allen-kun, Kanda, welcome back!" Komui had suddenly come up behind Allen and Kanda, smacking them cheerfully on the shoulders and causing them to jump. The wolf turned and moved away from the head supervisor a few paces. "The Gatekeeper told me you found a possible new exorcist. Where is—" He spotted the wolf sitting between Kanda and Allen and his cheerful look changed to one that was slightly puzzled. "Hmm? Who's this?" Komui looked suddenly delighted. "You got a pet, Allen-kun?" Allen rubbed the back of his head and watched as Kanda strode crossly out of the room: looked like he'd have to explain this to Komui on his own.

"Not exactly.......Remember when Hevlaska sensed an Innocence a few years ago?" Komui nodded thoughtfully. "Before any exorcists could go look for it, Tiedoll contacted you and said that the Innocence he'd found had accepted someone and that he was training that person. I think this might be her...but it's just a guess. The way he talked I thought she was human." The wolf gave an annoyed growl, but Allen ignored the noise and continued. "Anyway, an Akuma showed up just before we came in and this wolf destroyed it." Komui began nodding, interested.

"How? And what level was the Akuma?" He asked, intrigued.

"It howled, and the Akuma—it was a Level one—just exploded," Allen replied. "We noticed it might be an exorcist because there was something shining on it, right here." He bent down and gingerly reached out his right hand for the wolf's neck, and like before it did nothing to stop him so he touched the spot. "It stopped glowing after we came in though." Komui nodded and knelt as well, feeling around the area. He stood and looked thoughtful.

"She's a pretty bitch," the Chinese man commented, to Allen's dismay.

"What?! Komui, why did you call her that? She saved us!" The exorcist had a bewildered look on his face. Seeing Allen had misunderstood pretty badly, Komui waved a hand and explained.

"A bitch is just any kind of female canine. I wasn't insulting her." Allen turned a little red and gave a nervous laugh.

"How could you tell?" Komui patted the wolf gently on the head, and she wagged her tail a few times.

"She's a bit too small and slender to be a male wolf. But besides that, she doesn't have—"

"I know," said Allen quickly, sweating a little, "but anyway, do you think Hevlaska could tell us more about her Innocence, if she really does have one?" The black wolf huffed and somehow, to Allen, she sounded like she'd been laughing at him.

"Maybe. That's a good idea; let's go ask," Komui agreed after thinking it over quickly. Allen stroked the wolf behind her ears and motioned for her to follow, and she did. Allen stopped suddenly in the hall, and was left behind by Komui and the wolf until he called to them.

"Hey, wait a minute." Komui and the wolf turned and wondered what was up. "She was bleeding when we first saw her." Allen knelt and touched the wolf's chest, and his right hand came away sticky with blood. Komui gave a sympathetic murmur.

"Poor girl. And her paws, too...she had to climb up the cliff to get here." Allen's eyes widened; there was no other way, easy _or_ possible, to reach the Black Order unless you climbed—Allen knew that from experience. But climbing without hands? That must be ten times harder, and the exorcist had noticed that the wolf had been limping even more the whole time they'd been walking, although she hadn't whined or done any other complaining of the sort. "Let's get her cleaned up first."

_Hahah, what, do you guys have a vet or something here?_

Allen jumped and glanced around sharply, trying to find the source of the voice, but no one had passed them in a while. Komui was looked at Allen, concerned. "Is something wrong?"

"Ah...no....I heard a voice just now..." He shook his head a few times, hoping he wasn't going insane.

_Here's a hint: Furry, cute, almost bit your hand off earlier.....is it coming back to you, Allen?_

"Huh!? You!?" He gasped, jabbing his left finger in the wolf's direction. "You talk?"

_Only to you, unless I can bite that Kanda person too. I'd like biting him better than you actually,_ she thought to him, and Allen felt a trickle of wicked delight coming from her,_ but I don't think it'll work sadly. He'd probably ignore me or try to kill me anyway; that guy really has something stuck a mile up his—_

"Allen?" Komui asked, causing the exorcist to jump. "Are you feeling alright? Do you need to be treated?" Allen shook his head furiously, remembering the first time he'd been treated by Komui.

"No, I'm fine! It's just..." he looked down at the wolf. "...She's talking to me. With her thoughts, and I can hear them." Komui's eyes widened slightly.

"Really? I wonder how that's possible. Maybe because your Innocence is a Parasite type, and hers seems to be, too."

"Well," Allen said, rubbing his forehead, "she bit me a while ago, and it felt like my Innocence reacted to hers..." Komui seemed to understand something as his face lit up.

"Interesting...she brought her power in touch with yours so she could communicate. From what you said before, her howl destroying the Akuma, it seems that her power is her voice...she fights with sound, communicates with sound and thoughts....maybe her Innocence is in her throat." Allen felt a shiver of anxiety run through his body; Komui was getting pretty excited, and when Komui got excited...bad things happened. The wolf seemed to be getting equally nervous. "Maybe after the Infirmary and Hevlaska she'd let me study her..." A quiet warning growl came from the floor, and both sets of eyes looked at her.

_Tell him to take me to the damn infirmary and then to Hevlaska; I'm tired. I'm not going to be experimented on. _Allen relayed the message to Komui, but left a few things out.

"Oh, yes, my apologies," Komui said, then hurried along the corridor and turned sharply to the right to the next hall where the medical room was. Allen rushed along after Komui, and the wolf limped along as fast as she could after him. Once inside Allen helped Komui lift the wolf up onto an operating table, for even though she wasn't the biggest wolf out there, probably more the size of a golden retriever, she still was pretty heavy. Komui turned and started rummaging through medicine drawers and cabinets, then turned back to Allen and the wolf.

"I never asked yet, Allen, but if she's a possible exorcist we should know her name." Komui stated as he dropped rolls of bandages onto the table, as well as bottles of stuff that looked like antiseptic fluid and possibly even some needles and thread for stitches, and a syringe with a numbing solution inside.

"Ah, right," Allen responded, nodding once and then kneeling down to the wolf's eye level. He thought he might as well give it a try, since if it didn't work, this wolf could understand human and think into Allen's mind. _What's...um...your name?_

_Kimura Shiori. Nice to meet you._

"She says her name is Kimura Shiori," Allen stated. Komui made a motion with his hand that indicated he wanted Shiori to roll over onto her back so he could treat the gashes on her stomach. She showed her teeth slightly in the wolf-version of a wince as she carried out the request, and Komui got a large piece of cotton and dipped it in the round antiseptic container and started dabbing it gently across the cuts that ranged from her chest to around her abdomen. Allen watched intently, and his concerned expression slowly turned to one of annoyance. Komui hadn't been nearly that gentle with him the first day he'd come to the Order...not that he wasn't glad Komui hadn't shown the 'Mad Scientist' side of his personality....yet.

After Komui had cleaned the cuts he wound bandages around them and tied them securely. They had, as he was currently telling Allen and Shiori, not been very long but they had been deep, though didn't require stitches. Shiori rolled over again and Komui turned his attention to her nails, which had been cracked and nearly torn out because of all the rocks and hard climbing up the side of the large cliff. The Chinese man shook his head and turned to rifle through another medical drawer. When he returned to the operating table he held up a pair of strange tongs that had sharp, squared off edges. "Some of the nails are too badly damaged to try and fix," he explained, "so I'm just going to trim off the nails that won't repair on their own. That will expose the quick—the vein—so it may bleed a little more but bandaging them will help stop that. The nails would normally grow back in a week or two, but that could be in two days, or even one, because of your Innocence." He started cutting around the wolf's nails and sometimes couldn't help pricking the pads of her feet but she just tensed up and didn't make any sounds when he did. Allen helped him put antiseptic on her front and back paws and also helped him bandage them. The two lifted Shiori again and set her gently on the floor. "How do you feel?"

_Better, I can walk without limping much, and my body doesn't really hurt anymore. Thanks._ She finished channeling her thoughts to Allen and looked up at the two people, wagging her tail gratefully. Allen told Komui what she'd said and the two washed their hands, then put the medical supplies away. The trio headed once again to where Hevlaska was. The damage done to the Black Order tower had mostly been repaired after the Level Four Akuma attack two months ago, and the halls that had taken the most damage and once looked beyond repair now only looked like Komui's newest Komurin had thrown a minor temper tantrum. _Jeez. What happened here?_ Shiori asked Allen, surveying half-demolished walls and debris that still littered the floor.

"An Akuma—Level Four—attacked the Order a few months ago....Many people, including exorcists, researchers, and friends, died..." He felt a terrible pang, still so strong that he felt like he was going to fall to his knees as he remembered that time: the panic and terror, the sorrow, for everyone who had been in the tower at that time—exorcists, researchers—all had been friends. Shiori winced in sympathy, realizing the error in asking that question so openly.

_Mmm....sorry I asked. And there I was bragging about defeating a Level one._

"Huh...? You weren't bragging. That was pretty good for your first Akuma," Allen corrected her, trying to break out of his thoughts.

_Might as well have been. I thought I was pretty good with my Innocence too, but...stronger Akuma probably wouldn't be affected by my howl. Well, whatever. I didn't come here to just hang out._

"Hevlaska will be able to tell you what your Synchronization rate is. Then we can figure out what sort of training, and how much, you need." Komui had spoken to Shiori, to Allen's surprise, but then he guessed that Komui had just figured out what they'd been talking about from Allen's side of the conversation. Shiori's ears perked up.

_Really? _She asked Allen, and gave a bark of excitement. _I've been training with it for a while so it'll be interesting to see how well I've done. Hopefully it's good enough_, she added, and Allen thought she must be nervous. He wasn't about to tell her how freaky Hevlaska's inspection of him had been—she'd find out soon enough. He just hoped Shiori wouldn't be pissed and bite him with intent to harm instead of talk. The trio had been slowly descending into the depths of the tower and were getting closer to Hevlaska. This area had been repaired too and Allen could see the platform that Hevlaska usually towered over when a new exorcist came. Komui, Allen, and Shiori stepped onto the platform and Komui operated it so that the elevator started to move down towards where Hevlaska was. Any light filtering through the tower was getting dimmer as the elevator continued to move farther down. Allen and Shiori were jostled slightly as it came to an abrupt stop.

_So why'd we come down here then? Where's this Hevlaska?_

Allen and Komui watched as the wolf padded slowly away from them, then turned back and stared at them curiously. _Well?_ She asked, her tail wagging nervously. Komui and Allen gave her nervous grins as Hevlaska's long, white transparent body slowly snaked up over the platform and towards Shiori. She tilted her head and gave a growl of irritation as they continued to give her anxious looks without answering her. Another growl turned into a whoosh of breath as Hevlaska snaked her large, long body around hers and reared up over the platform like a snake, with the wolf trapped in the coils of her body. What would have been a human scream of shock and fear was translated to a drawn out howl.

_"Be calm, Shiori. I am not going to harm you—you're not in danger. Try and be still."_

_Bah! Thanks for that, how can you tell me to be still when you're—GROPING ME?!_

Hevlaska was sending silvery-white tendrils across Shiori's body, and finally sought out the area around her throat where Allen and Kanda had seen the Innocence shining.

"_Your Innocence is unusual. It seems....there were once animals who could wield Innocence, and yours wasn't meant for a human, so that's why your body changed so much. You were compatible, but only if the Innocence could change your body. You must have been compatible with the change, too, or else you would not be here now."_

_Ugh....aggh...stop!_

Allen winced as he heard the exclamations of discomfort from Shiori; her body was tense and her head was jerking from side to side. When Allen had been in Shiori's position, it had felt like Hevlaska had been probing the insides of his body with those tendrils, and it had been an uncomfortable feeling, like his nerves were being squeezed. Shiori let out a resounding angry bark and started thrashing, but didn't seem to be trying to use her Innocence, like Allen had the first time he'd met Hevlaska. She seemed to have reverted to some feral animal instinct and was thrashing wildly to get free. _"Be calm, you're not in danger," _Hevlaska said again, gently, and then started counting Shiori's Synchronization rate. _"Two percent, five percent, seven percent, ten percent, thirteen percent, fifteen percent, twenty percent, thirty percent, forty percent, fifty percent."_ Hevlaska had started moving slowly back toward the platform when she'd gotten to thirty percent, and now she was placing the still struggling wolf between the two. Shiori's paws twitched and she almost lunged toward Komui but caught herself and pressed her body to the floor, shaking slightly from the ordeal. Allen waited until she'd stopped quivering and put a hand on her head.

He'd noticed while she'd been in Hevlaska's grip her eyes had lost their soft, kind appearance to become cold and full of ferocity. Instead of looking like a star against a black sky her eyes had suddenly looked like black ice. It had been a startling change to see—but he'd seen the same thing happen whenever Krory was in battle. Krory's eyes became more feral and vicious, when the exorcist was normally a very gentle and thoughtful person. "You alright?" He asked, and Shiori lifted her head up towards him and nodded shortly.

_Yeah, it was just....creepy._ Allen nodded in understanding and let the wolf lean against him as she stood up and shook herself as if she'd just gotten wet and was shaking off the water. Hevlaska suddenly thrust his head between Allen and Shiori, the latter of which yelped and jumped away where she cowered for a few seconds like a scared cat. Allen and Shiori could somehow sense amusement radiating from Hevlaska.

_"If you fully master your Innocence, you should be able to take human form again. I suspect that once you do, you shall be able to change from human to wolf anytime you want, but do not think of trying it until you come to see me. I can tell if you've fully synchronized."_ With that, Hevlaska snaked back upwards, then descended back down into the darkness until he couldn't be seen.

"Well, now I think we can officially say welcome to The Black Order!" Komui exclaimed cheerfully, holding his coffee mug high into the air as if giving a toast. Allen turned towards the man with one eyebrow raised.

"You didn't have that when we came here...how did you....?" He dropped the question and shrugged. "Anyway, welcome to The Black Order. You're an exorcist now! It's late now but we can introduce you to most everyone tomorrow if they're not on missions," Allen explained to Shiori, smiling warmly the whole time. Shiori felt excitement fluttering inside her chest and strangely, suddenly felt wildly happy. It was strange; being an exorcist wasn't like having a normal, everyday job—in normal jobs there was a lot less chance of suddenly being killed, or watching while friends and comrades got killed.

_I...I did it! I got in! All right! I'll work hard, Komui-san!_

Although the wolf knew it wasn't really her nature to hop around and act like a giddy idiot, that's exactly what she was doing now: yipping happily and prancing around the two, while her barks echoed around the large underground chamber. Allen and Komui watched in amusement for a moment or two, but Komui soon held up a hand and tried to get the new exorcist to calm down. "Alright, alright, try to calm down. You need to let your injuries heal. Even if they're not very serious they could be if you damage them before they get better." Shiori stopped hopping around like an intoxicated rabbit and sat down at Komui and Allen's feet, panting slightly.

_So, alright, how's this go? Do I have to go find a room of my own? _Before Allen could answer, the wolf suddenly froze as if she'd gotten a glimpse of something dangerous. _I don't have to leave and find an apartment and climb up that darn cliff each time, do I? And moreover, no person would let _me_ stay in a building, the way I am now. Every hotel or apartment I've seen says 'No pets'. Go figure._ She jerked her head to the side, sounding pretty irritated.

Komui and Allen stared down at her, then at each other, their eyes wide. Allen took a deep breath and explained what Shiori had 'said' to Komui. Once he'd finished they began laughing. Shiori stared and waited with forced patience, her tail thumping irritably. Wiping his eyes, Allen managed to choke out, "Hah...n—no...Hahah, sorry but....that's just....insane!" he cracked up again and Komui managed to compose himself and take over for the young male exorcist. Except for the edge of his mouth turning up slightly he appeared slyly composed like always.

"While you're an exorcist here, you'll have a room inside this building. You don't have to find another place to stay. Even exorcists who were capable of climbing that cliff more than once would be terribly dismayed if they discovered that they had to." Allen nodded, a small grin on his face.

"Lavi would complain even if he had his Ozuchi Kozuchi to fly up here."

Komui chuckled and slid a finger under his glasses to wipe away a tear, then looked down at Shiori. "There happens to be a...free room now. I'll show you the way." Allen and Shiori followed Komui in silence.

_He means that the one who had the room before is dead now.._

"Um...y—yeah..." Allen murmured faintly back.

**Author's Note: Whoa, Shiori managed to not see Komui's crazy side, get judged by Hevlaska, and show off what she doesn't know XD More of her Innocence abilities will show up later but here's a rundown: she can instantly destroy Level One Akuma with her howl, and it affects multiple targets (up to five). Her howl sends out shockwaves which makes Level Ones explode. It has less of such a final effect on stronger enemies (exorcists, Noah) and Level 2 plus Akuma as you'll see later. Hope she's a believable character and not too Mary-Sue or annoying! I usually make OC's that are either shy or otherwise conflict avoiders, and Shiori is neither ;) I took a few Mary-Sue Tests and they said that she wasn't a Mary-Sue; specifically, one said that she was 'The very antithesis of a Mary-Sue' and another said I could afford to make her a bit more interesting, but no matter what they say, all of you are going to be the judge of her and the story, to tell me if she/it is bad or good. Tanomi masu minna-san! (I'm counting on you everyone.) ^^ Oh, and Shiori is originally from Japan, if you couldn't tell by her name or missed it. Just a recap. I grabbed one of the two favorite countries I'd been to and it ended up being Japan. My body was way sore after I grabbed it though...don't pick up countries, it doesn't work out well, they're too heavy ;)**

***Crickets***

**Heh ^^ Review if you would please! :)**


	4. Getting Used to Things

Chapter Three – Getting Used to Things

Shiori yawned widely, her pink tongue lolling out and then curling back to touch the roof of her mouth. A slight smacking sound was heard as she finished her yawn and closed her mouth, and her dark but warm eyes glanced around her new room sleepily. A small rectangular wooden clock was nestled on a round wooden table next to her bed. It had the usual roman numerals around the edge and told the exorcist it was just barely six O' clock. Yawning again Shiori leapt off the bed and bowed low as she stretched her front legs, and then extended each of her back legs separately as she stretched them. The bed had light blue covers and white sheets, and the bed was pretty soft and comfy, especially considering Shiori would normally sleep outside on the ground because, as she'd mentioned last night to Allen and Komui, no one would let a wolf rent an apartment or stay at an inn. The headboard of the bed looked to be wrought from iron and didn't have any fancy design like in a hotel Shiori had been in once (only because she'd been posing as a Seeing-Eye Dog).

The way The Black Order had rooms for the exorcists was pretty neat. Although...it made sense now that she thought about it. Some things about The Black Order she knew like the back of her...paw, but other facts about The Black Order had been or were a complete mystery to her—for example, Hevlaska, where she could get food, where she could train, and so forth. Her room was medium sized, and pretty comfortable. A square window with a light brown wooden frame let enough light in to let her know it really was pretty early, even if she'd looked at the clock already. She began to wonder when the other exorcists got up. She guessed, and hoped, that six O' clock was early enough. For one thing, her stomach was growling and it was hard for Shiori to get back to sleep when she was hungry. The new exorcist was a little anxious and although it wasn't her favorite thing to do she wanted to interact with the exorcists and researchers at The Order.

Sniffing, Shiori padded her way towards another wooden table that was larger than the one next to her bed. On it was several sheets of paper, floor plan type of paper, each with an aerial view of all of the floors in the tower. Scanning it quickly she memorized where the stairs were and also memorized which floor the kitchen and infirmary were on. It seemed that there was a place to train in the building, but since she was a wolf and not human, the standard methods would be a little difficult for her. Shiori had climbed up a cliff, something a normal wolf probably wouldn't have done, but the new exorcist couldn't see herself (now) trying to lift weights or bench press...or whatever type of workout program existed for exorcists. This was another thing Shiori didn't know about. She had the idea of training in the forest that bordered the tower; an Akuma had shown up outside yesterday, so maybe she could train on her own and destroy any Akuma she saw to make sure she was strong enough to be counted as an exorcist, and to make sure that no of them got inside the building. Huh.

_I sound like I'm trying to be a guard dog instead of an exorcist..._

Shaking her head, Shiori pushed the map aside and noticed something else was on the table: a black collar with a silver strip of material going all the way around in the middle. Two silver buttons with lines etched to stand out on the surface were on either side of the collar, and a silver tag in the shape of a cross had been put through a loop on the front of it. Squinting, she noticed that there were words etched into the metal tag, and she leaned closer to read them.

_Kimura....Shiori._ Her first name, Shiori, ran horizontally on the cross and her last name, Kimura, ran vertically, using the first 'i' in 'Shiori' to spell out her whole name. It had been cleverly designed, the wolf thought._ Well, look at that—I have an owner._ She huffed a few times, and had she been human Shiori would have been laughing pretty hysterically. After the wolf got over her case of the giggles, she bit gently into the collar and dragged it onto the floor, where she stepped on it so that it was standing on its side. Leaning her head forward she nosed her way into the collar and finally was able to twist it on. Luckily it seemed to have been adjusted and it felt snug, so it would stay on, but it wasn't too tight. _Nice,_ she thought, feeling warmth in her chest. Suddenly Shiori's stomach growled and she swiped her tongue around the outside of her muzzle as a divine smell floated to her nose...anything she'd eaten up until this moment would never be as good as that smell! The wolf tilted her head, thinking back. She had usually been chased away from markets and restaurants in all of the countries she'd run through because of her physical form, so she'd scrounged for leftovers behind restaurants or for scraps in dumpsters, lapped water from puddles and storm drains, and had stolen food from markets more than once. _I've gotta have that, whatever it is!_ Shiori thought hungrily, and darted to her bedroom door, standing on her back paws briefly to bite and twist the doorknob. Pushing her door open she leapt out, then turned and jumped up again to bite the doorknob and pull it shut.

"Ara, now what are you doing here, pooch? Oh, wait, I remember. You're the mutt that joined The Black Order." A redhead with the same outfit Allen had been wearing the day previous, minus the hood, was crouching in front of her and staring at her collar tag. Shiori noticed that the young man had added his own touch to The Black Order uniform, though: a headband that was bordered in black with a green scaly pattern for the rest of it, and an orange scarf that wound around his neck and draped down over his shoulders. The last thing Shiori noticed was the black eye patch over his right eye. She felt her tail wagging at him, even though he'd called her a mutt, which irritated her. He seemed to be the type of person who made jokes a lot. "Oh, my name's Lavi. Nice to meet you, Shady."

_Umm....Shady?_

"So, you finding your way around okay? Want to come get some breakfast?" Shiori barked and wagged her tail even harder. When Shiori had first become a wolf, she'd hated that she was adopting characteristics of most canines, such as barking, wagging her tail, and especially...licking herself and sniffing people's rears from time to time when, for some reason, she couldn't hold herself back. Some animal instinct had overridden most of her human impulses, but she'd had some time to get used to it. "Alright, then let's go, Shady."

_Right...huh? Who's Shady? Oh, yeah...nickname._ Shiori padded alongside Lavi and looked down at her paws. Komui had told her to keep the bandages on for a few more weeks, and the ones around her chest and abdomen for a day or two more. Against her black fur the white bandages looked a little strange, but oh well, the wolf thought. Better get used to bandages if she was going to be fighting Akuma from now on.

"So, Shady, where'd you come from?" Lavi asked as they headed for the cafeteria.

_Hmm, well, I could say anything to you but you wouldn't get it._

She stopped, and when Lavi noticed the wolf wasn't walking with him anymore he stopped as well and backtracked to where she was sitting and staring at him with a hint of a wicked grin on her face. Shiori sat up on her back legs and lightly waved her right front paw and held the other under it like she was holding something in both paws. Lavi stared at her for a few seconds wondering, as she waved her paw around, if she was having a seizure (and if he should call for help). But soon he understood the crude sign language and relaxed.

"What, you want to write a letter to me?" Lavi asked, then scratched his head. "Hmm, but Allen said you could talk to him." Shiori continued to mime the action of writing. "Alright, fine." Lavi reached a hand inside his jacket pocket and rummaged until he found a small notebook with faded yellow paper and a yellow pencil that appeared to have been slightly chewed on around the eraser and handed it to her. Shiori took the pad of paper in her mouth and dropped it to the ground, then took the pencil in her mouth. Lavi watched intently, eagerly waiting to see what her writing looked like. He fought back laughter; it wasn't bad, but still looked like child's scribbles. It was readable it but it took him a few tries to comprehend the words. When he was done he narrowed his eye, looking doubtful. "You came from Japan, and didn't really live anywhere, you just wandered around. That's not very interesting. Do you just not want to tell me everything?" He asked slyly, handing the pad and pencil back to the wolf. She wrote some more for a minute and lifted her paws up towards Lavi, and he read the message once again. "It's none of my business, huh? Fair enough." The redhead laughed and continued to read. "You think you can communicate telepathically with someone if you bite them, but only if they have a parasite Innocence to synchronize the power from their Innocence with yours?" He shrugged and slid the paper and pencil back into his pocket. "I don't have a parasite Innocence. It's an equip-type. I'll show you later. Maybe it'd still work; we could try, I guess."

Shiori's stomach grumbled again, loud enough to be heard down the hall. Lavi chuckled and started to lead the way to the cafeteria again. "Almost there. Your Innocence is parasite too, huh? Maybe you'll have a huge appetite like Allen. But there's only so much the cook can take..." He muttered to himself, grinning. Turning to the left he and Shiori entered the cafeteria, and Lavi glanced down at the wolf to see her practically drooling. "Caught the food scent, eh? Let's get you something. Or do you want some dog food?" Shiori glared up at Lavi and growled briefly. "Just kidding, sheesh. Come on, I'll introduce you to Jerry. He's the head cook, and you don't have to pay for meals; he'll make whatever you want for free." Lavi chuckled as the wolf blinked once, taking that to mean she was surprised. "Come on. It's just one of the ways The Order and Komui try to make things better for exorcists since they put themselves in danger every day."

_Whatever you want to eat for free? Hell yes baby!_

The two headed over to the ordering window and waited until the exorcist in front of them had been given his order, a bowl of soba noodles. Then the pair stepped up to make their orders. Lavi grinned at Jerry, the cook, whose skin tone made Shiori think he'd gotten a lot of sun. Shiori turned her head and watched the exorcist that had just left. Well, look at that. It was Kanda, and he was glaring over his shoulder at Shiori. In retaliation the wolf pulled her lips back and bared her teeth at the swordsman, who snorted and looked away. Lavi turned his attention down to the wolf, then looked in the direction that she was and saw who she was growling at.

"Ah, that's Kanda Yuu, but I call him Yuu-chan," he added the last few words in a mischievous whisper, hand next to his mouth, even though Kanda had walked away and found settled at a table. "He calls Allen 'Moyashi'. I do too, sometimes, it's hilarious to see his eyes get all scary." Shiori mentally snickered a little, even if she knew 'Moyashi' was a mean nickname. "Anyway, what are you going to have?" Lavi asked, handing the pencil and paper to the wolf. She was a little taller than the shelf that was under the ordering window and when she jumped up to her back paws her nose would barely reach the middle of Lavi's chest if she leaned over to nudge him. Shiori struggled a little to write her order, and this time she heard Lavi snickering a behind his hand, but when she was done writing she slid the paper across the shelf towards Jerry. He took a bit to read it, and read it aloud to make sure he'd gotten it right.

"'Miso soup, nato, anpan, rice with soy sauce, ham, toast, eggs, French toast, green tea and apple juice...Lavi, you might want to order first'." Shiori nodded and started to wag her tail, and Lavi looked slightly taken aback as Jerry read the last part of the note. "Alright, sweety. Well, Lavi, what do you want, then?"

"Huh...I'm not really hungry, I got something before. Thanks, though, Shady." The redhead's startled expression was replaced with a cheery Lavi grin. Jerry reached out and stroked the wolf behind the ears and left to start making the order. Shiori sniffed deeply as the lovely smells of the cooking food reached her, and Lavi let a napkin flutter down onto her head. She peeked out from underneath the folds of the paper napkin, then shook her head to get it off. When it floated in front of her face she snapped it between her teeth. "Don't start drooling all over the floor, now, Shady. This place was just cleaned up you know." Shiori gave a teasing growl and shoved the napkin into her collar, where it bunched and stuck under the band of fabric around her neck. Lavi looked up suddenly and waved at someone who was approaching. Turning, Shiori spotted Allen walking towards them. She noticed his face looked a little sweaty, but otherwise he was dressed neatly in a white shirt and red tie, with black dress pants to accompany them. His exorcist jacket was folded over his left arm. "Morning, Allen. Shiori just got some food, almost as much as you." To the wolf, he laughed, "Wait till you see what he orders."

_What, is it something strange?_ She asked the white haired exorcist, thinking of pickles in curry or lemons and rice, and received a head shake.

"No, I just...heh, you'll see," he said as Jerry returned a few minutes later with a tray of food for Shiori. Lavi took it and started to walk over to find a table. Shiori barked her thanks to Jerry (which echoed around the cafeteria and made most of the exorcists jump), and wagged her tail as well so he'd understand. The cook reached over and patted her on the head again.

"Anytime, sweety. Enjoy!" He turned to Allen and waited for his order, though Shiori got the impression that he didn't really need to hear Allen's order to know it, maybe by the way he didn't look as attentive as when he'd been reading Shiori's order. Allen gave a slight chuckle as he started to announce the food he wanted.

"I'd like rice, sausage, melon bread, eggs, toast, mitarashi dango, a ham and cheese omelet, nato, bacon, French toast, pancakes, and could I have two orders of each of those, please? And, if it's not too much trouble, could I also have orange juice and lemon tea?" Jerry nodded casually and turned to prepare the order while Shiori was staring with her jaw agape. A disbelieving whine issued from her open maw.

_Can you really eat all of that without exploding!?_ Allen rubbed the back of his head and nodded cheerfully.

"Yep. I eat a lot because my Innocence is a parasite type. Yours is too, isn't it? Don't you get hungry a lot?" Shiori shrugged.

_Yeah, but what I got is enough, considering the amount of stuff I ate before I came here. I thought that was a lot of food. Meeting you, I just realized I overestimated myself. _She showed her teeth in a wolfish grin, and at first Allen was a little nervous at seeing her sharp fangs, but gradually got that she wasn't going to attack him or bite his ear like a certain golden Golem liked to do when angry. _Are you going to need help carrying all that stuff?_

"Ah, Lavi will help me." The white-haired exorcist thought it was amusing, but admirable, how Shiori sounded like she was offering to help even though she didn't have hands. "Oh, and speaking of Lavi, you should go find him. He took your food, remember? He could be eating it now."

_He said he wasn't hungry...but he'd better not be eating it!_ Shiori thought jokingly as she darted off towards a table after spotting Lavi at it. _I'll save you a spot...a few spots. You're going to need the room._

"Thanks!" Allen called gratefully after her, and suddenly realized that the denizens of the four tables near him had stopped eating and were currently staring straight at him, some wearing pitying/irritated expressions. It must appear that he was talking to himself, and hoped that the word would get around fast how the two of them communicated, or that she'd be around long enough for people to puzzle out that they could communicate mind-to-mind. He suddenly realized what he'd just thought meant: that he hoped she wouldn't die before people got to know her well. He ground his teeth, wishing he hadn't thought that, even if it was true. He smiled once again as Jerry handed Allen his food, and he carried two trays back to the table. Lavi suddenly ran up and got the last one, and Allen gave him a grateful smile. He slid the trays onto the table next to Shiori's and said loudly, "I'm going to eat now!" Shiori barked a few times and Allen guessed she'd said the same thing in wolf. Allen started to shovel the food into his mouth at an insanely fast pace and Shiori ate in a similar manner, quickly devouring the things that weren't in liquid form, but consuming things like the miso, tea, and juice she'd ordered more carefully. Lavi sat across from them and watched, amused, as the two ate. He guessed Shiori was a little more conservative in what she ate for unknown reasons, maybe because she was a girl, and that she was just really hungry this particular day, even though she had a parasite type Innocence. Allen was the same as always, but it never ceased to amuse Lavi how quickly the white haired exorcist could eat the large amount of food he ordered so quickly. Within minutes, it seemed, Allen was done, and Shiori was still carefully lapping up her orange juice so it didn't splash all over the table. "Ahh....that was good," Allen sighed, and the wolf quickly glanced sideways at him.

_Aw, damn, I lost. Did you even stop to breathe, Allen? _She grumbled to the contented exorcist as he wiped his mouth neatly with a napkin.

"No one ever beats me when it comes to eating," he laughed, and Lavi looked from Shiori to Allen.

"Just then, did she talk to you..." Lavi pointed to his forehead, and Allen sat up, nodding.

"Yeah." He paused. "Will you help me convince people that I'm not talking to myself? Or can you help me convince Komui to let her bite everyone in The Order?" Lavi held up his hands.

"I don't know if Komui would...." Lavi's voice trailed off, and his edgy expression let Allen know they were thinking the same thing.

"He'd love to try it out as an experiment to see if it would work with both parasite and equip types." Lavi nodded.

"Yeah, that sums it up," The redhead grinned, and Allen started to dump the cups and plates from Shiori's tray onto his, and then he stacked it on top of the others and set it on a smaller table nearby, where they would be cleaned up later. "Since you guys are done eating, we should give Shady a tour." Allen turned and stared at Lavi blankly.

"Who's Shady?" He asked, puzzled, and looked down at Shiori just as the wolf pointed a paw to her nose. Suddenly comprehension overshadowed Allen's look of confusion. "Oh, it's you? Let me guess: Lavi gave you a nickname." The redhead pouted.

"Don't talk about me like I'm not here," Lavi whined, standing up from the dining table. The three started to head out of the cafeteria, when Shiori noticed that they were passing the table Kanda was sitting at. Staring up at him as she went by, he seemed not to notice he was being surveyed as he slurped the soba noodles without joy. At first she wondered why he was eating so slowly, and then remembered that Allen and she had eaten their meal(s) in a few minutes, so Kanda had probably just started eating. But he was taking his time. The wolf looked away before the antisocial exorcist turned and saw her staring at him and by that time the trio was out walking in the hall, past the exorcists' dorm rooms.

"You know this place—the dorm rooms. Do you need help finding your room again?" Allen asked, recalling the times Miranda had almost gone into the wrong room. Shiori shook her head.

_No, I think I'm good. I can tell which room I've been in by the way it smells, but thanks._

"By...what? Its smell?" Lavi shot Allen a peculiar look and inched slightly away from his friend. Allen took notice and waved his hands, embarrassed.

"Ah, no...Shiori just told me she can figure out which room is hers by the way it smells." Lavi looked a little more understanding as he closed the small distance he'd just added between the two of them.

"Think she needs a bath?" He suggested evilly to Allen, leaning in close and holding his hand up. Shiori's ears twitched as she glowered up at Lavi.

_I'll take a bath on my own, thanks, Lavi. And I don't smell bad if that's what you're implying. I have a better sense of smell than you so I'd be able to tell without it getting _that_ bad._ The wolf snorted, leaving it up to Allen to tell Lavi what she'd said. When the white haired exorcist did, Lavi grinned.

"Well, we'll show you the baths later. You've been to the dining hall, the infirmary, and the dorm area. That's about it. Do you want to meet some of the other exorcists here?" Shiori barked, and Lavi took that as a yes. "Alright, let's go. We'll probably run into them along the way. Lenalee and Miranda are here, but Chaoji and Krory are off on a mission. You've met Kanda once already, and that's about all anyone can stand." He laughed. Allen and Shiori turned and froze, their mouths both hanging clean open, but Lavi didn't seem to notice.

"Yeah, there's not much you can learn about Yuu-chan anyway. That guy's as antisocial as they come."

"Mind getting out of my way, Baka Usagi?" Lavi turned sharply, but wasn't acting as stricken as Allen or Shiori. Instead he held his arms wide, as if he was expecting a hug, and had a gleeful expression plastered all over his face.

"Yuu!" The redhead called dramatically, a gleeful, naïve smile stretching his face as he stretched one hand out and pressed the other over his heart. Kanda scowled and elbowed Lavi roughly to the side. "Aww, Yuu, I know you really love hanging out with us, don't be shy to admit it," the redhead sighed mournfully, sounding like he was counseling the exorcist. Allen watched with a mix of amusement and shock as Lavi threw his arms around Kanda's neck. The swordsman responded immediately and reached for Mugen's hilt, but grasped nothing. Bewildered he looked over his shoulder at the sheath and found it empty. His gaze traveled angrily to Allen, who waved his hands frantically in front of his face.

"I don't have it, I swear." Kanda leered at Lavi, who looked like he was fighting off an oncoming bout of laughter (and failing), shook his head. Finally the swordsman's poisonous gaze fell on Shiori, and Kanda ground his teeth as several veins throbbed on his forehead.

"Give—that—back—you—damn—mutt." Lavi and Allen's mystified expressions turned to astonishment and they automatically stepped away from Kanda; all exorcists, except Allen, Lavi, and Lenalee, knew not to wind Kanda up too much. It seemed to be thanks to Lavi distracting Kanda that Shiori had been able to snag Mugen from its sheath.

Shiori had Mugen's hilt clenched between her teeth, and she appeared to be grinning...or at least the closest a wolf _could_ come to a grin. As Kanda lunged for her she sidestepped the exorcist and leapt away again as he turned sharply in mid-lunge and grabbed for her again. Kanda gave an angry shout and it echoed slightly off the walls. A few exorcists, including Lenalee and Miranda, darted out to see what the commotion was.

Kanda sprang for the wolf again but she jerked her head upwards and flung Mugen from her teeth, and it started to spiral downward. Kanda trained his eyes on it and grabbed it by the hilt as it tumbled through the air. He lunged swiftly for Shiori, swinging Mugen in a skillful movement, but slashed through air as the wolf sprang backward. Shiori drew a paw across her muzzle and crouched, as if ready for more, but Kanda seemed to have just attacked her and missed on purpose as a warning to never attempt that again. Sheathing Mugen, he turned sharply and stomped off. As he neared the exorcists that had gathered to watch the small fight, they leapt aside instantly, each person in the throng wanting to avoid becoming the object of Kanda's wrath. Most of them then hurried off busily, returning to what they'd been doing, but Lenalee and Miranda rushed up to Allen, Lavi, and Shiori with expressions of puzzlement and slight unease on their faces.

"What was that about?" Miranda asked, looking from the two boys down to the wolf. Allen sighed and rubbed his forehead.

"Shiori stole Mugen from Kanda, but I think she was just trying to tease him," he stared wonderingly down at the black wolf, "for some reason."

"Hey, Shady, points for guts! And even more for stupid." Lavi cheered, giving the wolf a noogie. Lenalee and Miranda gave nervous laughs, and Miranda crouched down in front of Shiori and raised a hand to scratch her behind the ears. Shiori gave a contented whine, and Lenalee smiled down at the wolf. She liked dogs—well, this was a wolf—but still, she had an attachment to most canines, though cats were high on her list too. Briefly Lenalee thought about how Shiori would look if she'd been a cat and tried not to laugh—no one at the Order would believe a tame little kitty was going to fight Akuma. The dark green, almost black, haired girl also knelt and stroked Shiori under the chin.

"You're the new exorcist who's really a human? It's strange...even though I heard from Komui that Hevlaska said you'd been changed into a wolf." Miranda continued to scratch the wolf's ears while she nodded in agreement. "But that doesn't matter. I look forward to getting to know you better," Lenalee said, and smiled warmly at Shiori, who began wagging her tail at the Chinese girl.

_Lenalee and Miranda. It's good to meet you._ Shiori thought, and Allen spoke for the wolf, which caused expressions of astonishment to paint their faces.

"Allen-kun, can you understand her?" Lenalee breathed as the wolf barked, staring from the canine exorcist to Allen.

"Well, not exactly—I can hear what she's thinking. It's kind of strange..." he said, but explained the best he could.

"You bit Allen-kun?" Lenalee asked the wolf with a hint of scolding in her tone. Shiori whined softly, lowering her ears a bit.

"Ah, it's alright, it healed right after she bit me," Allen said quickly. "Komui thinks it's because she synchronized the power of her Innocence with mine, and was able to because we both have parasite types." Lenalee nodded, looking interested, and stood up after patting Shiori one more time.

"Well, Allen and Lavi, my brother wants to see you both. He says he's got a mission for you." Lavi looked down at Shiori and gave her an apologetic look.

"Sorry, Shady. We'll continue the tour another time." Shiori wagged her tail a few times and licked his hand. Allen crouched in front of Shiori and stroked the top of her head.

"You're either crazy or brave for winding Kanda up like that," the white haired exorcist laughed, then stood up and patted Shiori. "See you later." Shiori wagged her tail once, and then licked his left hand a couple times. Allen and Lavi strolled off and gave the three girls staying friendly goodbye waves.

"I wish I could hear you, too," Lenalee said longingly to Shiori once the boys had gone, "but I'm not sure if it would work for mine. It's not exactly a parasite type...but maybe we could try..." Shiori moved closer to Lenalee and nudged the spot where the deep red rings were linked around the Chinese girl's ankles. "You're going to try...just don't bite me too hard," she said with a nervous laugh. Shiori wagged her tail once to show she'd understood and leaned closer to Lenalee's foot, and gave both her skin and the ring a light nip. A tiny amount of blood was drawn, and the blood dripped onto the ring and onto the outside of Shiori's throat. Light streamed from the wolf's Innocence at the same time light streamed from Lenalee's, and the light spiraled around and then merged together. Just like when Shiori had bitten Allen, the light lingered for a few seconds, then faded. Lenalee and Miranda uncovered their eyes, blinking from the bright green light that had momentarily blinded them. Lenalee gently brushed her fingers across the surface of her ankle and didn't see any marks from the wolf's teeth, like Allen had said.

"Did it work?" Miranda asked from where she was crouched next to her friend, and Lenalee shook her head.

"I can't hear anything."

_Sorry if it hurt, Lenalee-chan. Oh, mind if I call you that? And Miranda-san...could you ask her if calling her that's alright?_ Lenalee jumped and stood straight up, causing Miranda to squeak a little in surprise as she stood up quickly too. The Chinese girl could hardly believe it. The wolf was sending thoughts directly into her mind!

**Author's Note: Hehe, I checked this chapter today (January 6) for mistakes and added references to a manga and a game; try and guess which ones. I can't remember what month or date I wrote the chapter but I think it was either in September or November.**

**Ah, silly spell-checker; it's not NATO, it's nato. Well, actually, it's nattou because of a double sound thing. And nattou is sticky soy beans, a popular Japanese food. Anyway, in the next chapter, there will be more fun to come and more interaction between Shiori and Lavi. I love that guy, he's funny, awesome, and nice. I don't have a crush on him I swear, but he is cute. I think I could find a lot of people who agreed with me about the cute thing. (Sweat drop) Well, if I do have a crush on him I don't think I'm going to bring it into the story, at least not on purpose. Sometimes I just blaze on ahead in writing and don't pay attention to mistakes, so things happen...like this:**

**(Typing) **'When Shiori had first become a wolf, she'd hated that she was adopting characteristics of the canine, such as parking, wagging her tail'..... **Lol, what? XD Wolves can have drivers' licenses too?! Hahaha. It's late, uh, I mean early, like 1:18 AM, and I have classes tomorrow starting and (At. See, it's late...early) nine and ending at 4:30. Well there are worse schedules but I still need to sleep. If it's not early in the morning for you then review please ^-~ One last thing: I'm thinking what Shiori's Innocence did was plausible. I made it up, but Innocence can do lots of things—Innocence picks who will wield it, Cloud Nyne's Innocence takes the form of an animal, Lenalee's Innocence protected her (which they say would theoretically only happen if her Innocence was the Heart), Suman's Innocence rejected him, and Allen's Innocence saved his life so I guess I thought I'd have a lot of leeway in that area but let me know what you think in a review if you'd be so kind ^^ Bye for now.**


	5. Recalling

**Chapter Four - Recalling**

"I heard her!" Lenalee exclaimed to Miranda, then said excitedly to Shiori, "Wow...it's not how communicating mentally would be. It's like you're actually talking to me instead of into my head. Your voice is so clear."

_It's strange at first, but you'll get used to it. It'll be handy, too, if we can talk to each other like this if we get paired on missions, won't it? It'll be easier to come up with plans in battle without enemies knowing about what we're going to do._

"You're right....you won't get to go on missions for a while, though. You'll have to have some training to see how your fighting skills are and what type of missions you should go on."

_Oh, that reminds me. Where did Allen and Lavi go just now? Seemed like they were in a hurry._

"Usually exorcists go on missions to defeat Akuma that are causing problems, or to find Innocence that Hevlaska senses. Lavi and Allen-kun went to go find an Innocence that was just discovered today. It's vital to send exorcists straight out after an Innocence is sensed by Hevlaska since it could be found and destroyed by a Akuma or Noah so they had to leave pretty quick. Komui made sure they had time for breakfast though. Anyway, some Innocence is found without a host or user, and we have to find them before anyone like the Akuma or Noah Clan and Millennium Count do or else the Innocence could be destroyed."

_The Noah Clan!?_

Lenalee wasn't expecting such a level of alarm to be in Shiori's voice, so it startled her into silence for a few seconds. Miranda touched her friend's arm worriedly.

"What is it, Lenalee-chan?"

"I'm not sure...Shiori-chan, what's the matter?" The wolf sat down and looked slightly troubled and pensive before replying.

_The town I lived in had never been directly exposed to any Akuma, but sometimes people would show up in my town and tell stories about how they'd escaped being killed by things called 'Akuma'. I'd heard rumors about how they were created, and since I was little of course it scared the crap out of me. After I heard stories about how Akuma killed people I didn't sleep well for a long time. The people would talk—a lot—about someone called the Millennium Earl, who could create Akuma, and a friend and I spent most nights staying up late to listen for anything weird in case Akuma or the Count came. The town had never actually been attacked by Akuma, though. But one day, a horde of them appeared. I never even saw them enter. They just suddenly appeared, bursting from the bodies of people who I'd thought were refugees from other towns attacked by the Akuma I'd heard about._

Lenalee nodded and asked for Shiori to pause while she told Miranda what the newest exorcist had said. Miranda listened intently, then asked, unable to help it, "If the Akuma attacked, they wouldn't stop until the town was destroyed. That means exorcists must have come to fight them, right?" The wolf nodded in response to the question, then continued relaying her thoughts to Lenalee.

_Yeah, exorcists came...maybe a day or something after the attack started; I wasn't sure. Most of the houses in the town had been destroyed, and lots of people had been killed—my dad, a few of my close friends and several neighbors. _The wolf stopped to let Lenalee tell Miranda what she'd said and then started again when they both nodded. The girls murmured in sympathy and looked at their feet, wondering if anyone had wished their relatives to come back after their family and friends had died. But Lenalee's hope rose as Shiori continued with her story.

_I'd been hiding for a while with my mom and one of my friends and a few neighbors that had survived. My neighbor's house hadn't been destroyed yet so we took shelter there. I didn't know where anyone else was, but the explosions and screaming outside had stopped suddenly. I wanted to see what was happening so I looked out of the window a bit and saw two people fighting. One was dressed all in black it looked like, and his skin was gray. The other was older-looking and had gray fuzzy hair and a weird weapon, a cross and a pole, or a....chisel, maybe._

_A Noah, and Froi Tiedoll, it had to have been,_ Lenalee thought, then told Miranda what Shiori had recalled. A look of recognition lit Miranda's face as she also realized who the second person Shiori had seen that day was.

_I was kind of frozen, but kept watching them. I felt like I had to, for some reason. The man who had grey skin and the crosses on his forehead attacked the old man. Something flew out of his hand, something small and green. It shot right towards the house I was in, crashed through the window, and hit me in the throat._

"What happened then?" Lenalee asked after catching Miranda up with Shiroi's story, and began to feel cold dread creep through her body.

_I had gotten a short look at the thing—it was a cube that had glowing green rings around it. The old man's weapon was glowing the same color as the cube, and I started to wonder if this little cube was Innocence, since I'd never seen it this way before. The exorcists that had come to my town before had used some weapons that were green like the cube, and destroyed the Akuma with them. If the man had an Innocence weapon I guess I thought he'd been protecting the cube._

Shiori took a breath, and Lenalee talked quickly to Miranda before the wolf started up again.

_As I was looking at the cube it suddenly got really bright and floated out of my hands and went to my throat. I remember feeling like I couldn't get enough breath and I guess I fell over. _Shiori waited for Lenalee to explain everything to Miranda before continuing.

_My throat burned then, and then the burning spread through my whole body. Every bone felt like it was creaking and shifting, as if I was becoming a new creature and my old bone structure no longer fit. It hurt, like my skin was being stretched way past its limits, and like my bones were bending the wrong way, but I could barely get up enough breath to scream. I realized the pain must have stopped when I felt the old guy wrap his arms around me and help me stand, and at that point I thought something had gone wrong with the Innocence. Maybe I hadn't been compatible. I think I passed out, but when I woke up again I wasn't dizzy and my throat didn't hurt anymore. Everything seemed kinda taller and I felt unbalanced somehow. I realized suddenly that I wasn't in my neighbor's house anymore, and I didn't see my mom, friend, or neighbors anywhere._

Shiori stopped and gave a long, heavy sigh, and Lenalee quickly caught Miranda up. _The old guy explained to me what had happened. He showed me a mirror and even though there wasn't anyone else behind me I couldn't believe the wolf was my reflection. He said my mom had gone hysterical when I'd changed and screamed at him to take me and get me back to normal then bring me back home. He'd told her he couldn't, at least not right away, but she still wanted him to take me so he did. He told me he just travelled and stayed at hotels in towns while he looked for Accommodators. I trained with him for a long time, two, two and a half years, and then he had to leave to help the other Generals and exorcists, so he gave me a few instructions on how to get to the Black Order and we went our separate ways._

Shiori stopped and gave a yawn, wondering how long she'd been talking. When Allen and Lavi had left, the hallway had been bright, but now it was dimmer and soft white lights along the wall had lit up.

_Whoa! Sorry, Lenalee, I didn't realize I'd been talking for that long. My friends always said I'd talk someone to death one day._ Shiori wagged her tail apologetically, feeling self-conscious for having spoken that long. Tiedoll had been purposely vague about The Black Order's exact location so that only Shiori would find it and, as he had assured the to-be exorcist, she'd know it when she saw it. For a few months after she'd left Tiedoll to find The Black Order, she had lived on her own, crossed many countries and had even swum across large lakes and wide rivers a few times to reach the base of the tower. Shiori had gotten lost quite a few times, even with the instructions and map Tiedoll had given her. Shiori's overwhelming frustration had melted into relief, though, when she had made it to the top of the figurative never-ending cliff and at last had been allowed to become an exorcist even though she didn't look human. An exorcist—no matter what age or form—was still an exorcist, she supposed. Shiori had been sixteen when she'd gotten her Innocence. The level she had synchronized with her Innocence, while although was halfway to mastery, still wasn't very impressive (or so she'd been told by Tiedoll when one day she had gotten too overconfident during a training session). Tons of other exorcists and even more Akuma were stronger than her, and if she wanted to fight on par alongside her teammates and help them make a dent in the Akuma, training at The Black Order would do a world of good.

"That's really incredible, what your Innocence did," Miranda commented. "I guess I'm not surprised, though—Innocence can do many amazing things." Shiori nodded energetically, but Miranda noticed a look of hunger and weariness in the wolf's eyes. Lenalee touched the wolf's shoulder and waited until their eyes met to ask a question that had been bothering her for a while.

"Shiori-chan, do you know if anyone in your town met the Millennium Earl and tried to resurrect their loved ones?" The fur along Shiori's back suddenly bristled at the same time she lowered her head, pulled her ears back, and stuck her tail out straight. Startled and slightly scared of her behavior, Lenalee said softly, "Shiori, you can tell me. It's alright."

_I don't know why you want to know. If anyone had talked to the Millennium Earl, what good would it do knowing now? People can't go back once they're Akuma._

"Alright...then...did the Millennium Earl show up at all? Did Tiedoll mention seeing him, or mention seeing any more Akuma?" Lenalee asked, and Miranda found she'd been thinking the same thing too. Usually when people despairing about lost loved ones were around, the Earl was too, waiting to trick them into 'resurrecting' their lost friend or family member.

_....No. I didn't seem anyone that might be the Earl, and Tiedoll sensei didn't mention anything about seeing him either. And I know I didn't change anyone into an Akuma._ Shiori lifted her ears and relaxed her tail, then let the fur along her back lie flat. Weakly she wagged her tail and the two girls relaxed—they'd been nervous and slightly afraid when Shiori had suddenly displayed aggression and fear.

"You look exhausted, Shiori," Lenalee commented worriedly, while smiling and thus hiding her thoughts of,_ She was acting strange there...I guess my question was somewhat out of the blue, but...it was almost like she was trying to hide her guilt about something. She said that she didn't bring anyone back or see the Earl, though..._

Miranda tapped Lenalee on the shoulder and broke through her thoughts, then gestured a hand towards the cafeteria.

"Lenalee-chan, Shiori-chan? Let's all go get something to eat. It's getting late, and you need to start training tomorrow, Shiori-chan." Lenalee nodded and started walking to the right of Miranda, while Shiori was on the exorcist's left.

_It's good to be here. I want to be able to get stronger and help you all. You two, Allen, and Lavi are the first friends I made here. Maybe even Kanda, although I think that I destroyed any possible friendship relations with him._

Lenalee waved a hand and smiled nervously. "He's not a very social person to begin with."

_Nope, he isn't...anyway, I'll do well on my training so we can go on missions together._ Lenalee smiled cheerfully down at the wolf and agreed.

"I'll help you get better with your Innocence, though I bet you're already on your way to getting better since Tiedoll helped you train."

_Thanks, Lenalee. But I can always do better._ The wolf thought as the three of them strolled into the cafeteria.

**Author's Note: Phew. That chapter was just a lot of Shiori explaining**** how she got her Innocence...Mighta been too long, might have not but I think Chapter Three has been the longest so far with four thousand plus words. I wanted to write some explanation and clear up some confusion if there was any and that little background story is a basis for what's going to happen in chapters to come. Next chapter, Shiori finally goes on a mission, and we see how well Sarah can write fighting scenes...I'm still practicing my writing style and hopefully it's paying off. I have thirty, probably more, pages of this story as of now. I feel like this story is turning out well so far.**

**I like D-Gray Man and wanted to write a fanfic about it with a character I made up, but I couldn't decide what kind of Innocence I wanted her to have, and what power it would manifest as. I finally settled on this one, and hopefully I'm not unknowingly ripping someone else's idea off. I think Innocence turning its user into an animal could work (or if people don't really think so, it works in my story reality XD), since Cloud Nyne's Innocence took the form of a monkey (my explanation of animals being able to use Innocence, even if Nyne's Innocence just took on that guise and isn't really an animal, let alone a person in the form of an animal). The idea of humans being able to turn into animals and fight, or just animals being able to fight with weapons appeals to me. If any of you have played Okami or Zelda: Twilight Princess you probably understand a little of what I'm talking about. Well, again, leave a review if you'd be so kind, and tell me what you thought of the chapter and I hope you enjoyed reading it :)**


	6. Mission Start

**Chapter Five – Mission**

Two months had passed since Shiori had joined The Black Order and started her training. The wolf exorcist hadn't gone on any missions yet, but had been training hard and preparing for them. She usually trained with Lenalee, Lavi, or Allen, and although she enjoyed the sessions they were harder than she thought they'd be. Her friends didn't go easy on her, and the training sessions often ended with Shiori exhausted and frustrated (and more often than not beaten up), but Lenalee and Lavi, Allen especially, were saying that she was starting to get more comfortable with fighting, and not just with her Innocence. Shiori was becoming able to dodge Lenalee's Dark Boots and attacks, Lavi's hammer and a few of his elemental spells, and Allen's Clown Belt, claws, and sword with little difficulty, which helped her stamina, speed, and agility to rise. She was also responding quicker to surprise attacks. In some training sessions Lavi, Lenalee, or Allen would go outside of the tower and one would vanish for short or long amounts of time, leaving Shiori to practice activating her Innocence and sparring with the two exorcists left behind. The surprise attack was supposed to simulate backup or an unexpected enemy arriving. Sometimes two of her friends would attack together or separately at different times, and sometimes the friend she'd been practicing with would either help her fight the one who ambushed them, or turn against Shiori, so that she'd have to fend off two attackers at once.

The training was exhausting and difficult, but she felt it was starting to pay off. She could hold her own against one attacker, but when she had to fight two it became more challenging and she was often overpowered and beaten. It was good training, though, and everyone participating benefited from it and, as Lavi and Allen said sometimes, they liked having the opportunity to learn some moves from a wolf. Shiori said the same about them, and whenever she would train with them, felt exhilarated that she was slowly but surely becoming stronger and more of an effective exorcist even though she'd never really been field tested. Sometimes Miranda, Krory, and Chaoji joined in on the training sessions, and also either helped or hindered Shiori by aiding her in battle or aiding her attackers. Sometimes Miranda would be on Shiori's side, healing any damage when they were hit, for the fights wouldn't always have rules like 'No damaging team members', for in real battles Akuma wouldn't show her or her teammates any mercy. On the other hand, sometimes Miranda would do the same for whoever Shiori and her teammate were fighting against, whenever the wolf would score hits with her teeth and claws, which would weaken her opponents over time. After the training sessions, the fatigued group would head down to the cafeteria and get something to eat, rest for a short while, then separate and do their own thing. This was usually when Shiori either wandered around The Order building, which had allowed her to become acquainted better with Komui and some of the researchers like Reever and Johnny. They were getting along more like casual friends, and Johnny would sometimes play chess with her. The problem of not having hands to move the pieces around made it so that Johnny won each time, but Shiori had figured out she could nose the pieces around and also pick them up with her teeth. The wolf had especially gotten close to Lenalee, Miranda, Allen, and Lavi. She liked Chaoji alright and vice versa but noticed he seemed to be uneasy around Allen for some reason, which made her uneasy in turn—often Shiori was affected by the way others acted towards each other, and she'd been that way even before the Order. She felt like asking but didn't want to pry too much into something they both might not want to talk about.

Kanda seemed to be less irritated by her and had merely started to ignore her whenever they were in the same vicinity. It wasn't because he was starting to like her, but merely had found ways to cope with having to be around her—Kanda would still let 'damn wolf' slip sometimes when she was in earshot.

When Shiori felt bored with wandering she'd go out every day and train. Allen and Shiori had started practicing their fighting together when they'd realized that they usually spent their free time doing the same thing: training alone.

Allen was in the middle of a clearing of trees outside the tower, and the sun was just barely starting to go down. The young exorcist was currently holding himself up with a fist pressed into the ground, and was counting the push-ups he did. He'd had time to count to six hundred so far, and Shiori still hadn't ambushed him yet. He was keeping his ears trained for any sounds, like the rustling of paws across grass or leaves, or the swishing of fur, but hadn't heard anything. Still he kept his eyes trained for any movement and ears for sound. Allen had just barely reached seven hundred and twenty when he heard it: a slight rustling of leaves and paws touching the ground lightly. A millisecond after he heard the warning noises a dark shape hurtled out of the bush and he pushed himself into the air, then flipped over neatly to avoid getting a set of claw marks in his skin and jacket. As soon as he landed on his feet the black furred juggernaut was after him again, snapping and slashing with teeth and claws. He reached over to his left arm and pulled it away from his body to form the broadsword he used in battle, and brought it up with his arm just in time to block an accurate bite from Shiori.

"Not bad, but not very good," he taunted, "even though you almost had me. You can do better than this." Allen pushed his weight against Shiori's and shoved her away from him, using the momentum of the swing to do so. The wolf flipped over and was flung through the air, but landed on the side of a tree and used it to push herself back through the air towards Allen. He lunged towards her, too, and swung the broadsword with full strength towards his opponent. A black blur whizzed through the air as Shiori ducked under the sword and opened her jaws wide to bite at Allen's face. The white haired exorcist feinted sharply to the left and went with the momentum, turning in a neat circle once before bringing the sword up again to strike the wolf. Shiori caught the blow and was slammed with the flat of the sword and hurled about twenty feet away from Allen. She caught her fall and twisted in midair, then landed lightly on all four paws, looking winded but no worse for the wear but she'd probably have huge bumps and bruises later. Shiori jerked her head up and side stepped quickly to the left as Allen lunged for her with sharp taloned claws, trying to unbalance her and strike. Shiori dodged the claw slashes with precision but couldn't find an opening since Allen was keeping her preoccupied with dodging. Allen slashed again for her left, and she dodged that way, but she was forced to leap away when the other exorcist suddenly changed the direction of his attack.

Flying about ten feet into the air she flipped over and let gravity take her back down. Allen leapt into the air, claws aimed for the wolf, who knew it'd be near impossible to change direction at the speed she was going. She kept her front paws stuck out and slashed them across Allen's arm. He grunted but his talons kept moving and scratched across her right foreleg, then buried deep into her shoulder and collarbone area. The wolf jerked and growled from the pain but she shoved her forepaws down hard on his arm, which forcibly ejected the claws from her body. Pain sang from the injured area through her body, but she used Allen's arm as a kickoff and leapt into the air again, then came down behind him. Landing hard on her right foreleg made her growl in pain and stagger. Jolting her head up after she'd been about to lick the injured area, she shifted her weight to the left of her body and lunged for her opponent. Her whole side was throbbing with pain and streaming blood, and was probably one of the worst pains she'd had in her life, but even if this battle was just for practice (in some aspects) she couldn't stop to try and make the pain better. Allen turned to meet the attack and brought his taloned hand up to defend.

The wolf suddenly dropped to the ground, put her weight onto her left side, and let out a howl. Allen lifted his hand and had been about to strike downwards when his ears received the howl and suddenly he found himself with a killer headache. Then for some reason Allen felt like his body was paralyzed. He couldn't move his arm or change his position to defend from impending attacks, no matter how much he thought about it or mentally screamed at his muscles to respond. Shiori stopped howling and knew the effect would wear off soon so she swiftly lunged for Allen and sank her teeth in around his left arm and shoulder, hoisted his body over her head and tossed him away into the forest. He slammed against a tree, splintering it and causing half of it to separate from the trunk and thud heavily to the ground.

Recovering quickly he changed his arm into a sword and charged for Shiori, but saw that she'd vanished from in front of him. The exorcist felt something suddenly slam into the back of his neck and shove him forcefully into the ground. His sword flew away and imbedded into a tree, but only for a second. A creaking, groaning sound was heard as the sword sliced through the bark, causing the tree to splinter and topple over. Allen ground his teeth and pushed himself up quickly but a strong paw forced his head into the ground again. He rolled sharply to the side and felt Shiori's paw slide off of him with the sudden movement. Taking the chance he whirled and brought a leg up to kick her away. Spotting his sword he quickly dashed for it but a black blur flew past him, grabbed the long handle and swung it up over her head a few times before letting it go and watching as it spiraled through the air towards him. Allen stopped and watched the rotation of the blade carefully, then shot out his right hand and caught it accurately by the handle. He gave a smirk as Shiori went into a crouch and started circling him, dark eyes watching his face, sword, and movements intently. Angling his sword so that the blade pointed downwards toward the wolf, he began circling too. The two jumped in shock and toppled over when a voice called their nicknames piercingly.

"Shadyyyy! Allennn!!"

Lavi was running out of the tower, waving his left hand furiously. Allen gave a sigh and moved his sword back towards his left shoulder, not even watching as it became an arm again. He'd gotten used to that while ago. "Lavi? What is it?" He asked, the fight forgotten, and began to stroll over to meet Lavi. Shiori was panting slightly as she padded over as well

"Allen! Shady! Komui has a mission for you two! He wants to see you in his office now. You'd better hurry it up, too, or Kanda will kill you before the mission even starts." He looked the duo up and down, noticing Allen's sweaty, slightly pink face and Shiori's lolling tongue and heaving chest, and also noticed their respective wounds. Shiori's fur had been ripped from her shoulder, and a gash was bleeding from Allen's claws. Allen himself had bite marks in his sleeve and slashes across his left shoulder. "Been training, I see. You're not too tired for the mission, are you?" Lavi asked cheekily, grinning. Allen and Shiori snorted and shook their heads.

"Nah, this was just a warm-up. Right, Shiori-san?" Allen laughed, then glanced sideways at Shiori and noticed that while she had a gleam of anticipating in those clear black eyes, her thoughts were telling a different story.

_My first mission is with Kanda....it's with Kanda...bet he's happy...if I screw up what'll happen....well, duh, I'll probably get someone killed or die myself..._

"Don't worry too much, Shiori-san. He'll just ignore us and we'll probably finish the mission in no time. Let's go talk to Komui; we need to get all the details." Allen stated, but didn't look any more eager about the mission than the wolf did. Lavi grinned again and nodded, then turned to lead the way.

"Yeah, you don't want to screw up on your first mission." Lavi suddenly clutched his face and looked horrified. "I remember an exorcist that sucked on his first mission. They threw him off the cliff!" Shiori looked startled for half a second, then narrowed her eyes at the red haired exorcist, who waved his hands and laughed. "I'm kidding, it'll be fine....and that never happened." Allen and Lavi laughed, and the wolf gave them both peculiar looks before shrugging and wagging her tail. "You two should go see Matron and get those taken care of before you go anywhere though." Lavi accompanied the two, and Matron assessed their wounds quickly and let them know that although they were bad, they didn't require staying in the infirmary. She disinfected, stitched and bandaged their cuts up tightly since they'd be moving around a lot, thus risking opening the gashes up again. Matron sent them on their way with a stern look, telling them not to do something stupid, like actually damaging each other during training, again.

_I'm just curious to see what we'll be doing._ Shiori thought to Allen as they left the infirmary and strode down the hallways after Lavi on their way to Komui's office. Allen and Shiori entered first to find Kanda waiting in front of Komui's desk, and the Chinese man was standing behind it sipping from his pink bunny coffee mug. Upon seeing Allen and Shiori his face brightened and he held up a forefinger to his forehead in a kind of salute.

"Ah, Allen-kun, Kimura-san! Glad you came!" The two exorcists in question could sense the irritation radiating off of Kanda even before he turned his neck slowly to leer unpleasantly at them.

"About time. Get the mission information and let's go. I don't want this to last longer than it has to," the Japanese exorcist hissed. The two moved to stand on either side of Kanda and took the mission paper from Komui. From Kanda's left, Shiori growled up at the bad-tempered exorcist.

_Maybe if you cooperated with us—_

"—it _could_ go faster!" Allen and Shiori stared across Kanda at each other, but only they realized they'd said the exact same thing. Kanda gave both of them a glare and scoffed.

"Che, let's just get going. I hope you won't be gawking stupidly like that for the whole trip." Shiori and Allen quickly scanned the mission details and Shiori gulped while Allen gave a little sigh. It was a mission to recover an Innocence that had been located by a Finder. Kanda turned sharply and departed from Komui's office.

"Go, you two, before Kanda blows another gasket," Lavi said cheerfully, slapping Allen on the back. Shiori huffed with laughter as Allen got the breath smacked out of him.

_____________________________

Allen had explained the important things about the mission to Shiori—which was pretty much everything. It was her first mission so he didn't spare the wolf any details, and by the time the trio had arrived in town and hopped on the train that was heading to the rendezvous point with the Finder, she was both better informed and a slightly nervous wreck. He'd switched to assuring her that she just had to keep an eye out for the Innocence and always be prepared for anything to show up.

Allen was now sitting cross-legged and sideways on a seat that had been upholstered with red, and Shiori sat on the same one, since Kanda had taken the seat opposite them and was still emitting antisocial waves as he silently read a book. The golden golem Timcampy was nestled among Allen's silver-white hair and appeared to be nibbling a few strands of it.

Facing Allen, Shiori watched as her friend pulled out his cards and started shuffling them. Usually he played Poker or Blackjack but was going to try and make Shiori loosen up with a card trick. The wolf watched intently as Allen shuffled the cards expertly a few times and then held out the deck towards her. "Pick any card you want," he said with a barely concealed grin, and the wolf bent forward, then lightly bit a card and pulled it from the deck. Allen covered his eyes while Shiori fumbled with the card and finally turned it over to see that she'd picked the black King of Spades. Turning the card over she picked it up in her teeth again and reached a paw out to poke Allen in the knee. He uncovered his eyes and watched as she slid the card back into the deck. The exorcist shuffled the deck again, then closed his eyes and frowned, humming as he pretended to be deep in concentration. Finally he snapped his eyes open and drew a card out from the deck, saying with a grin, "Is this your card, the black King of Spades?" Shiori got a short glimpse of the card and dropped her jaw.

_No way! You looked!_

"I did not!" Allen exclaimed, an appalled expression plastered across his face. "The Great Allen never cheats!" He laughed, almost manically, and the wolf demanded that Allen do the trick again. "Well, alright, but the results won't change. I knoooow aaaaall," he said in a spooky voice. Kanda snorted but continued to read his book. Even though he'd heard the explanation of why Allen talked to himself nowadays Kanda still thought he was a psycho and had another reason to be irritated by the younger exorcist.

_Alright, I'll be watching you, pal,_ Shiori thought, then focused on selecting another card—this time she slid the red Queen of Spades between her claws and kept her sights trained on Allen, who had closed and covered his eyes again, then surreptitiously slid the card back into the deck. When she was satisfied he hadn't peeked out from between his fingers she poked him again and he gave her an evil grin as he shuffled the deck twice to satisfy the skeptical wolf. He made a show of searching for the card, his gloved fingers twitching as they hovered over the deck. Reaching for a card he whipped it up and showed it to Shiori, who sniffed and looked unimpressed.

_That's not my card._

"What?!" Allen burst out, causing Kanda to look up angrily from his book. The Japanese exorcist glared at the two but they didn't seem to notice. Shiori began wagging her tail as Allen flipped the card around and stared at it. "This wasn't your card? The red Queen of Spades? I've never gotten it wrong before!"

_Heh heh...that's because you didn't! That's my card, I was just seeing if you could be messed with. So, gotcha!_

"Bah, and you accused me of acting dirty." Allen growled, flicking the card towards Shiori. It spun neatly and bounced off of the wolf's nose, causing her to yelp loudly in surprise. Kanda slammed his book shut suddenly, causing Allen and Shiori to fall off of their seats in shock. Timcampy was thrown from Allen's head and flapped quickly to regain altitude. The golden golem bared his teeth in annoyance at Kanda, then flew towards the card that had fallen near him and bit it between his teeth before the exorcist decided to slice it in half with Mugen. He flew out the door with a startled Allen and Shiori as Kanda shouted angrily after them.

"I'm tossing you three off this train _right now_ if you don't shut up!"

**Author's Note: This chapter was originally longer, but I decided to cut it into sections so readers wouldn't be scrolling down for eternity. Sometimes I think a chapter's long but it's short and vice versa....hopefully this wasn't too long or short. In the Word document it's seven pages so maybe it's too long. Tell me if long is good. I'll have the next part up soon. I think this chapter kinda sucks though....I felt like I rushed it a bit too much with that time warp...but I can always change it later. As always please read and review and let me know of mistakes...again I check the chapters but I overlook stuff. I bet my English teacher's pen would run out if she proofread this XD Oh, I didn't create D. Gray Man and I don't own it. Katsura Hoshino does. Almost forgot that. Well, you all know I don't own it ^^ I'm kinda glad I don't...Katsura does a better job of being a manga artist and storywriter than me...and I cannot for the life of me draw. I just like reading and writing stuff :3**

**Edit 03/03/09: I said Shiori picked the red Queen of Clubs but made Allen say it was the Queen of Spades and had Shiori agree. ^^; Those are the type of mistakes I make sometimes. Might make it more interesting but I decided to fix it. The next chapter will be up soon. It's written, but I want to (hopefully) get a few more reviews before I put it up.**


	7. Interlude Shiori

Note: I wanted to give the main characters of D-Gray Man more time in the story, and make Shiori interact more with them, so I started writing chapters that are going to be called Interludes, where I will either intrude on the exorcists' down time or follow them around on more missions. I think I'll also include the researchers in this too since I haven't written much about them except in passing. This scenario takes place a few weeks before Shiori's first mission, just to give you an idea of the time frame.

Interlude: Shiori

"Ugh..." Allen groaned as he stumbled down the hall towards the men's side of the baths. He'd just finished a mission with Chaoji and although it hadn't been very difficult, he was exhausted. The thousands of Level Ones that had suddenly swarmed into the small town in France had been no problem, and nor had the few hundred Level Twos even though it had been a slight hassle to bring them all down. Thankfully no Akuma higher than a Level Two had appeared.

The problem was the overly-hysterical town mayor, who hadn't seemed too keen on letting Allen or Chaoji return home for two reasons: One, he had to express his gratitude every moment, and second, he had pleaded for the two exorcists to stay in the town permanently in case any more Akuma showed up. Once the mayor had even thrown himself at Allen and clutched his leg, making the teenager overbalance, which caused both of them to fall over. Allen was painfully reminded of the men who had kidnapped him from the train station during the mission where he, Lavi, and Lenalee had been investigating reports of a 'vampire' who had actually been Aleister Krory.

Neither Allen nor Chaoji had been successful in convincing the mayor and grateful townspeople that they needed to leave, so finally they'd had to call Komui on a Golem and the mayor reluctantly had let them go (after a quarter of an hour of talking and assuring the mayor that The Black Order would keep an eye on the small town). Komui was probably tired of the ordeal as well. He had seemed cheerful enough on the exorcists' return, though, being relieved they were finally back. If Chaoji and Allen _had_ stayed in the small town Komui would probably have daily paperwork to complete, and he disliked that almost as much as the thought of letting Lenalee out of his sight.

Allen pushed the door to the men's changing room open and felt the thick, warm steam coming through another door that led outside to the baths and felt a little better already. He pulled his clothes off, put them in one of the nearby clothing baskets, then got a white towel from the towel rack and wrapped it around his waist. Then he eagerly set off for the outdoor bath area and stretched his aching arms before heading towards one of the hot pools. A black smudge was moving around in front of him, looking like it was about to get into one of the hot pools. Allen jumped and gave an alarmed yell as he recognized who it was—and what gender.

"Shiori?" He exclaimed, eyes wide with alarm and face bright red. He held his towel tighter around his waist in order to make absolutely sure it wouldn't slide off. The wolf jumped and turned quickly, then pinned her ears and tucked her tail between her legs in alarm. "What are you doing here? Isn't this the men's side?"

_Um....I don't think so._ Shiori thought, averting her eyes._ The sign on the door said 'women' when I came in earlier._

"Then....did the 'wo' fall off?" Shiori shrugged.

_It must have. Um, look, why don't you hide for a little bit so I can go see if anyone's coming. If not, then I'll come back and get you so you can go to the men's side._

The doors to the men and women's baths were right next to each other and were identical except for the all-upper case words printed on the doors. Once a person walked inside either door there was a long hallway. This hallway then led to the changing room, and the next door in the changing room led outside to the baths, and there was a wooden dividing wall that separated the women's and men's baths. Shiori had sworn to learn all gender-specific words in English so she could avoid some embarrassment and awkward situations. She knew her eyes had read 'women' correctly, but Shiori hadn't noticed if the letters had been close to falling off and now she couldn't remember. But it didn't matter, she supposed. She had to help Allen get out of the women's baths unnoticed and fix the sign so others didn't make the same mistake he had.

Allen nodded, still holding his towel on, trying to stop his face from burning red with embarrassment. "Thanks." When the wolf had gone he covered his face with his left hand in shame. "I don't believe this..." he mumbled crossly, then hastily found a large rock near one of the hot pools and ducked behind it.

Shiori, meanwhile, was sniffing as she padded towards the changing room door and froze when an unknown, sweet scent hit her in the face—or nose, rather. No one she knew in The Order smelled like this scent. As Shiori took a deep sniff again she realized the fragrance reminded her of flowers. The fur along her spine lifted when she heard the door to the changing room slam open and then shut with another bang.

"Yuuuuuuu!" an overexcited, gleeful voice cried and Shiori recognized it at once. Shiori heard the redhead cry Kanda's name again, and then she heard him give a startled yell. There was suddenly a great deal of crashing and Shiori assumed he'd tripped over something.

"Watch where you're going, _stupid rabbit_, and call me Kanda!"

_Ah, great. Allen, Lavi and Kanda are here. The door still says 'men'._

_Brilliant...what now?_

_They think this is the men's side and I can't—and don't want to—talk to them. Can you explain the door situation to them once they come in? After they do, I'll go try to find the letters, and stall anyone who tries to come in._

_....Alright._

The door in front of Shiori suddenly swung open, away from her, and she ducked her body to the ground, startled. She'd expected the door to open outward, allowing her to hide behind it, but a realization suddenly hit her. _I forgot the door opens both ways!_ She stared at Lavi and Kanda and they stared at her. Unlike Allen, Kanda had not covered his waist with a towel; he instead had a smaller towel in his hand and Lavi's waist was bare as well, although a large white towel was slung over his shoulder. Shiori knew that a bather was only allowed to take a small towel into a hot spring in Japan, and so Kanda had taken a small hand towel. The wolf had counted on the door opening out to censor any part of the males she didn't want to see, as well as conceal herself from them but her plans had obviously gone awry.

"Sh-Shady..." Lavi stammered as he quickly yanked the towel over his shoulder and wrapped it around his waist. Kanda had unfolded his small towel and covered himself up as much as possible too, but was glaring murderously at Shiori, while Lavi simply looked aghast. Both of their faces were turning red but if it was because of steam from the baths, awkwardness or, in Kanda's case, outrage, Shiori didn't know.

"Mutt, what the _hell_ are you doing in here?" Kanda growled slowly, his voice low and threatening. Shiori began whimpering and growling in a vain attempt to talk to them but neither exorcist understood and they couldn't hear her thoughts; only Allen, Miranda, Lenalee, and Hevlaska could. "Be quiet!! Just get out of my sight before I schedule you an unpleasant trip to the vet." Shiori yelped in alarm, tucked her tail between her legs again and streaked past Lavi and Kanda so quickly that she became a black blur. At an attempt to lighten the tense mood Lavi chuckled nervously and walked off towards the hot pools.

"Jeez....that was a little harsh, Yuu. But I wonder what got into her...Oh, hey Allen!" Lavi waved cheerfully when he saw the exorcist rush towards them from behind a huge rock. "Why were you hiding there, huh? Trying to scare us?" Lavi teased, happy to have an excuse to forget the incident. Allen rubbed his head and sighed heavily.

"This is the girls' side." Lavi and Kanda stared. "Two of the letters on the door fell off for some reason and that's why...."

"....What?" Lavi asked, his jaw falling open and eye stretching wide in dismay. "But we saw the word on the other door and it said 'women' Does that mean....this side really is the girls' side?!" Now all three exorcists were completely flabbergasted. "Something strange is going on here."

"You sure you aren't the one who's behind it, _stupid rabbit_?" Kanda growled, holding up a fist, and Lavi darted away to hide behind Allen, who tried to shake the redhead off.

"I—I didn't do it, Yuu! I swear!"

"Really?" Allen asked humorlessly, giving Lavi a suspicious glare, and the redhead looked desperately from Kanda to Allen.

"I....you gotta believe me, Allen! Even _I_ wouldn't do something like this! Why would I have walked in my own trap if it meant getting caught by the girls and beaten to death?"

"Well, that's true...." Allen said slowly, his skeptical look disappearing. "Okay, I have a plan. We just get out of here before whoever messed up the doors puts the letters back and the girls really _do_ start to come in here." Lavi nodded vigorously and gave several uneasy laughs.

"Good plan, Allen. Let's hurry..." Lavi stated nervously. Kanda, who hadn't said anything during their discussion, was getting impatient and had already decided to leave. Now he was already through the door and getting his clothes on. Allen and Lavi ran into the changing room and followed suit, not caring about putting their outfits on neatly. Suddenly Kanda froze and motioned for Allen and Lavi to be quiet; someone was coming. They nodded and scanned the room for a place to hide, then ducked behind a nearby counter that had towels stacked on shelves behind it. The trio of exorcists realized that their hiding place probably hadn't been the best choice since whoever was coming would probably grab a towel from the shelves, have to go behind the counter to get them, thus discovering the three males hiding there. But it was too late to change their hiding place for the door suddenly opened and female voices reached their ears. Allen gulped and shrank down even lower behind the counter; it was Lenalee and Miranda. Lenalee would never forgive him if she discovered their hiding spot and Allen doubted Miranda would either. They might expect something like this from Lavi, but certainly not him. He prayed Lenalee and Miranda would go into the bath area, which would give them a chance to leave and fix the messed up doors...and he desperately hoped Komui never found out about this. He hoped no one else but Shiori would know about this annoying series of events.

_Allen!_ A voice burst inside Allen's head and he almost yelled in shock but felt two hands clamp firmly over his mouth and realized Lavi and Kanda had muffled his shout just in time and were now glaring at him.

_Al....len....the door's....oooh, hi there, Lenalee and Miranda!_

Lenalee and Miranda had turned at Shiori's first mental shout and now were wondering what she had been talking about. "Shiori-chan? Hello. But what were you saying about the door...and why were you calling for Allen?" Lavi and Kanda once again turned their gazes on him and shook their heads in exasperation.

_What? Did I say Allen?_ Shiori recovered quickly and wagged her tail. _I don't think so. I was thinking about what all was in here because the door was open._ Lenalee frowned and tilted her head.

"It didn't sound that way...I thought you said Allen, and it was like you were expecting to find him in here." Lavi, Allen, and Kanda tensed in their spot behind the counter.

_He wouldn't be in here. It's the girls' side and he's not like that. He'd be keeping people like Lavi out of here, if anything._ Allen was glad Lavi couldn't heard Shiori's thoughts. He grinned and started to laugh but got a warning shake from Lavi and Kanda.

"You're right, Shiori-chan. Well, want to join us?" Lenalee finally relented and smiled at her friend, then slipped out of her exorcist's uniform. Miranda did the same and set it in a basket, then started to head for the door with Lenalee. Shiori walked carefully towards the door, scenting the air surreptitiously, and stopped suddenly when she smelled the sweet, flowery scent from before, as well as a burnt kind of smell and finally something that smelled like the cafeteria. All of the scents were coming from a desk to her left and Shiori twitched her ears nervously.

"Oh, we need towels. I'll get them," Miranda offered, moving towards the desk, and again the three hiding exorcists froze and didn't dare breathe even though they were about to be caught. Shiori lifted her ears and moved towards the desk, stopping Miranda.

_I'll get them. You two go on out; you've had a long day. I already soaked a while before anyway and I was taking a break._ Lenalee pursed her lips in a frown but hesitated only a moment before going outside with Miranda. Sighing in relief, Shiori turned sharply to her left and went behind the counter, then stood on her back legs and pawed two towels down from the upper shelves that were filled with them. Holding the towels in her mouth Shiori walked towards the door and turned her head towards her comrades.

"Thanks, Shady. Glad you were on our side," Lavi sighed, removing his hand from Allen's face.

"We owe you one," Allen added, his voice muffled since Kanda's hand was still over his mouth.

"I owe you nothing," Kanda said irritably, and yanked his hand away from Allen's mouth in disgust. Shiori snorted and flattened her ears, pushed the door open, then trotted outside.

"Let's go," Lavi urged the two and they stood swiftly and leapt over the top of the counter and made a break for the door that led to the hallway out of the changing room. Walking swiftly down the hall Allen could hardly believe they'd made it out without being discovered and accused of being perverts. But, as he pushed the door open and peeked out into the hall and confirmed that no one was coming, he wondered who had taken letters from the doors. Kanda roughly pushed past Allen and stormed into the hall, obviously having had enough of the hot pools—he didn't even give the door that now said 'MEN' on it a second glance. Lavi held his hands behind his head while walked past Allen, who looked peeved, into the hall. "Maybe we should talk to—hm?" The golden Golem, Timcampy, suddenly floated past Lavi and towards Allen, who lifted his hands and let him perch there. "There's something in his mouth," Lavi observed and stepped closer to get a better look. He and Allen blinked as they saw what the Golem had in his lethal little teeth.

"The...letters?" Allen burst out, incredulous, for between Timcampy's jaws were two thick white letters made of marble—W and O. Allen clenched his hands around the Golem and brought him towards his face until he was inches away from the exorcist's nose. "Timcampy....does this mean you were the one that switched the letters? If so I'd like to know why," he said through clenched teeth. Timcampy opened his mouth, letting the letters drop so he could lunge forward and bite Allen on the nose. The white-haired exorcist yelped and hopped around with Timcampy latched to his face. Lavi picked up the letters and sighed, then got a devilish gleam in his eye. He quickly pocketed the letters and kept his hands in his pockets as he strolled casually away, letting Allen fight with Timcampy.

__________________________________

The exorcists got a surprise when they found out that both of the doors to the baths now read 'MEN'. Komui was stunned for once, as he hadn't been the cause of a problem, though everyone thought he was. Allen revealed it had been Timcampy who'd been the troublemaker, but that didn't solve the new mystery of where the letters were now. Most assumed Timcampy had eaten them, and this made Komui look a little nervous, but he never admitted that he'd tinkered with the golden Golem, trying to program in a sense of humor to keep the exorcists' spirits up. It seemed that it hadn't worked very well...but it had given everyone something to talk about. They'd laugh at it a while from now. The project was still in its test phase, anyway, so Komui wasn't too discouraged.

The surprise had mostly affected four exorcists. The first two exorcists were Lenalee and Miranda, who were startled to discover that the door they'd gone through said men instead of women. Confused, they'd checked the other door to find that it also said men and alerted everyone else about the problem when they came by. The exorcists agreed to pick one side for the females and another for the males until the letters were replaced, and interestingly enough, the side they picked for the women really was the women's side. Komui had new letters made and replaced the missing 'WO' on the doors.

The last two exorcists were perplexed and annoyed to discover that the name plates on the doors to their rooms read 'WALLEN WALKER' and 'OKANDA YU', while a certain redhead was watching their reactions from around a corner. He snickered to himself as Allen and Kanda realized that they were the only ones in the hall (thus, it must be the other's fault), and began to argue. This prank Lavi was pleased to be responsible for.

* * *

Me: Kanda's naked, Timcampy's evil, Lavi's embarassed, and Allen's not a pervert.

Allen: You wrote the story, not Timcampy; don't blame him. And of course I'm not a pervert!

Me: Timcampy bit me! I'm bleeding! Someone help me!

Allen: Hmph, now you know how it feels. I suppose now you'll think twice before--

Lavi: We can just forget the whole thing, right? No one saw us except for the mutt.

Kanda: How dare you put me in here naked. Bleed to death for all I care.

Me: Just help me stop the bleeding, Okanda! I'm feeling faint...

Kanda: (Narrows eyes and leaves)

Allen: Did we ever have nameplates on our doors?

Lavi: ...I don't think so...

Me: I remember Miranda getting lost while looking for her room one time...or maybe that was in a Fanfic...anyway, I thought there should be nameplates so I added them in. Hey....why does your nameplate say 'Allen', Haseo?

Allen: (Blank stare) Haseo?

Haseo: I think she's lost too much blood.

Allen: Yep, she fainted. But the bleeding's stopping now. I don't think we need to call for help.

Lavi: Hey, as long as she's out, can we draw on her?

Allen: Sure.

Haseo: All right.


	8. Innocence

**Chapter Six - Innocence**

Outside the compartment, Allen was teaching Shiori how to play Poker while Emile, the Finder accompanying them, watched with interest. He was young, maybe twenty, and although people couldn't tell because of his hooded robe his hair was brown and short, and he was somewhat thin but strong. His skin complexion was slightly dark like Jerry's, and his eyes were light brown. Behind his white face mask he smiled, amused, at the wolf. She was doing pretty well for her first time, (but not good enough, since Allen was winning), although considering that she didn't have hands to hold the cards properly she was struggling through the game with little complaint. Timcampy was once again nestled on top of Allen's head, snoozing. Emile would listen whenever Allen spoke but missed half of the conversation since he couldn't hear Shiori think. It was puzzling to suddenly hear Allen answer a question that no one had spoken, but he soon realized what might be going on and had gotten used to being confused about the one-way conversation.

_Did you see the window when he slammed his book shut? It almost broke from the shockwave!_

"It did? No, I didn't notice. Kanda gets really involved in his books....and, unfortunately—for you that is—you lose again!" Emile laughed as Shiori gaped when Allen revealed his winning hand.

_You serious?! That's the twentieth time you've beaten me! I've even gotten a little better at playing. _Shiori's teeth bared as she growled in frustration. Beginner's and dumb luck was something that hadn't visited the newest exorcist, especially not in games.

"A little isn't enough. Be glad it's not strip poker. If it had been you'd just be a stray dog right now," Allen snickered with his evil card face, referring to her collar which was the only article of clothing Shiori wore. The wolf stuck out her tongue and growled.

_Oh, be quiet, I've only just started playing. Don't brag about beating a rookie._

"I'm still really good though," the white haired exorcist said cheerfully, flicking the wolf's ear. "So, did you ever go through this place when you were going to The Black Order?" Shiori thought for a moment, then shook her head once.

_Saint-Guilhem-le-Désert...I don't think so. I did find some monastery-town-type places while I was travelling, though. They were pretty nice._ Staring out a window to her left Shiori noted the clear blue sky and white-sanded ground that was scattered with prickly bushes.

"I've never been here, but Cross—my teacher—and I found some places like this too while we were travelling. If a town was small we never stayed long because we were performers and always looked for big crowds but sometimes we stayed in small towns because sometimes the people were hospitable, especially in monasteries. Cross didn't like them, though. He's not the most....devout person out there." Allen rubbed his head as if it hurt. "I don't know much about this particular place though." Emile, the Finder accompanying them, began reciting the area data from Komui's report.

"The Abbey of Gellone was founded by a man named Guillaume d'Orange, also known as Saint Guilhem, in the year 806 and later grew into a city named Saint-Guilhem-le-Désert. The town was a rest area along a pilgrimage route to Santiago de Compostella. Climate of the area is arid, elevation is 180-2660 feet, and population is around 100. It's fortunate that such a small town has avoided being attacked by Akuma; if it ever did come under attack, no doubt all the people would be killed, but it's very isolated. That could be why the people and this Innocence have stayed safe all these years. Saint Guilhem established a monastery in Saint-Guilhem-le-Désert because of the area's isolation," Emile finished matter-of-factly, while Allen and Shiori stared at him.

"How'd you know that?" Allen asked, wondering when Emile had learned all of the information about the monastery-city.

"It was in Supervisor Komui's Finder report."

"Interesting. I didn't know Finders got different reports," Allen said thoughtfully while dealing the cards for another round of Poker. Emile nodded.

"You get a mission report, and I get a report that ensures I don't get you guys lost." Emile laughed. "I'm a Finder but my sense of direction is actually bad sometimes. But it's my job, as well as a hobby, to read about the places I go or might be assigned to go with exorcists. I've been to probably sixty countries so far on missions with exorcists. I've even learned the languages for some of them. Oh, we'll probably be arriving in a few minutes, so start preparing. I'm going to go make arrangements for the conductor to rendezvous with us later." With that, Emile headed down the hall and out of sight as he turned a corner.

Cards went flying all over the train as the compartment door slid open with a thump. Allen and Shiori leapt away as they beheld a still irritated looking Kanda standing in the doorway.

Glaring down at the two he paused long enough to tell them, "We're here," before stamping down the hallway like the angry overlord of solitude he was. Allen and Shiori scrambled to gather up all the cards in the deck and Allen slid them back into the case before darting with Shiori after Kanda. They made it off the train just in time to spot Kanda strolling around a corner, and tore off after him. Once they'd rounded the corner they saw the Japanese exorcist talking to the Finder Emile. "Finder!" Allen called as he and Shiori dug their feet into the ground to halt. "I mean, Emile," he corrected himself, suddenly remembering the Finder's name, "Where's the Innocence?" Shiori waited eagerly to hear the location of the material.

"It's supposedly in the foothills past the town and monastery, and it's underground. We'll have to find some way to get to it once we get there." Kanda and Allen glanced down at the wolf who was staring up at the Finder.

"If the damn wolf digs for it we can get out of here faster." Allen noticed that Shiori had been paying attention when Emile had mentioned the location of the Innocence, but now she was just staring up at him with a faintly puzzled look on her face and didn't appear to be listening. Allen coughed and tapped her on the shoulder as the Finder cleared his throat and also tried to get her attention.

"Uh, Kimura?" Emile said loudly. "We'd better get going. We need to find the Innocence before a Noah or an Akuma does." Shiori came back to attention and nodded, and the three of them followed the direction the Finder had told them to go. "We should be there before too long," Emile explained, and it only took about an hour of walking to get to the spot where the Innocence allegedly was buried. "Komui, Hevlaska and I believe that since the Innocence was buried its signature was hidden for a while, which kept it safe. But he wants you to retrieve it quickly before that changes." The Emile ran off a short distance to a spot a few feet away from the base of a hill. "This is the area where the Innocence is."

"Well, go on, stupid wolf," Kanda said boredly, then gave an exasperated sigh when Shiori didn't do anything. "Get to it already!" He snapped, jolting Shiori out of her thoughts.

_Eh? Get to what? _Shiori thought to Allen, perplexed, and the white-haired teenager blinked.

_I thought it looked like you weren't listening._

_Sorry, I lost focus, _Shiori said unnecessarily, looking guilty as her ears wilted apologetically. Allen sighed but began explaining what their plans were.

_Just pay more attention—this isn't some leisure trip. You can space out when we're going back to headquarters. Anyway, you're going to dig to find the Innocence, since it's underground, remember? After all, you are a dog,_ Allen thought to her.

_Don't mean to get all picky, but I'm a wolf. But alrighty then._ Allen quickly followed after Shiori and watched as she sniffed around, then started digging quickly. Allen and Kanda stepped aside to avoid the clods of dirt and grass that began flying out from under the wolf's paws.

_I don't think there's any rock right under us, but we might have to do something about that later. For now, though....I can keep digging._ Allen nodded once and felt like there wasn't much he could do except give the wolf water from a glass bottle when she looked like she was tiring from the heat. Komui had given them a few water bottles because they'd be going to a hot, dry region. Kanda had taken up a position a few feet away, keeping an eye out for any Akuma, and his hand rested on Mugen's hilt in preparation for an attack. If the stupid Moyashi wasn't going to watch out even if he had that eye of his, then he might as well. It seemed like Moyashi was the only one who could communicate with the damn wolf anyway.

As the wolf continued to dig, sand and soon dirt flew up into the exorcists' and Finder's face; they hastily moved out of the way. Since the hole was getting deeper it began to take longer for Shiori to kick the sand and dirt out of the hole so she could continue digging for the Innocence. The group had reached the Innocence site at about ten in the morning, and Allen judged that it was a little after twelve now, since the sun was more or less directly overhead.

Leaning over the hole, Allen saw that the hole appeared to be about fifteen feet deep. "Hey, Shiori, have you found anything yet?" His voice echoed slightly and soon he heard a reply bark before a stream of words materialized in his mind.

_Nothing yet! It's kinda tight down here, but one good thing about this is that it's a little cooler down here. Don't get heat stroke or anything, you guys._

"We won't," Allen panted. He'd pulled his hood up so he wouldn't get sunburned, but the trade off was that he was sweating more and felt like he was sitting in a small room with no windows. Allen took a drink from the canteen he had and wiped his forehead. A yelp sounded suddenly from below, causing Allen, Kanda, and the Finder Emile to rush over and peer into the depths of the newly-dug hole. It was twenty or so feet deep now. "Shiori! What happened?"

_Ow! Nothing, I just hit a layer of rock. There's no way I'm digging past it unless one of you brought some explosives. _Allen explained the situation to Kanda and the Finder; the former looked exasperated and the latter looked at a loss, only having the device that would imprison Akuma for a short time. Allen wished he could still use his arm as a cannon, but his Innocence could only form claws and a sword now. Besides that he had his Clown Belt, but he didn't see how that could help, unless the rock layer was a somewhat small boulder that he could try to wrap Clown Belt around and lift it out of the hole.

"I'm coming down, Shiori! Heads up!" Allen tossed off his exorcist coat after quickly unbuttoning it and was now only dressed in a white dress shirt, red tie, and black pants. Allen fell for about a minute and a half and saw the rock layer coming up. He changed to his battle form in a split second and dragged the claws on his left hand down the side of the hole to slow down so he wouldn't break anything upon landing, or have his fall broken by the wolf. Shiori leapt aside as Allen dropped down onto the rock layer neatly. Reaching his right hand for his left, the exorcist drew his sword and began striking the rock with all his might. The sword clanged off of rock as he struck again and again. Cracks soon appeared on the surface of the rock after a few minutes of Allen bashing it, and Shiori began to furiously dig into them even as Allen kept striking the rock just beside her digging paws. The rock finally began to give way after a few more minutes of the two going at it. Repeated, powerful hits had weakened the rock layer. Shiori grimaced as her nails kept scratching at the rock, causing them to crack and pull away from the vein beneath her nails. The wolf tried to focus on digging into the cracks and the sound of Allen's sword striking the rock instead of the pain burning her bleeding and bruised paws. Allen heaved his sword up into the air and brought it down with a powerful strike and the two started falling as the rock suddenly crumbled beneath them into hundreds of large pieces. Shiori yelped shrilly in shock as they fell. Allen dug his claws into the side of the pit and pulled Shiori closer to him with Clown Belt, but didn't feel like they were slowing down. Digging his claws even harder into the side of the pit he finally felt that their momentum was slowing.

_Allen, look! I think the Innocence is down there!_

The two came to a complete stop, with Allen hanging from the side of the pit, and glanced down. Sure enough there was a faint green light glowing beneath them. Allen judged the distance that they'd fall if he removed his claws from the side of the hole and guessed they were probably ten feet from the Innocence. "I'm going to let go," he warned Shiori, who nodded and braced for the fall and impact. Jerking his claws free from the wall Allen fell, and his stomach jumped up into his throat and his hair rushed upwards for a few moments. Then the fall stopped as his feet slammed into the bottom. Shaking off the shock, he released Shiori from his Clown Belt and let her jump free. "Phew. It's no problem carrying you, but you're still really heavy." Shiori bristled and growled.

_I am not heavy! I only weigh one hundred and twenty pounds—even less as a wolf! _As the two headed over to the Innocence, the glow became brighter. "Got it," Allen whispered, a triumphant and relieved grin on his face. Shiori leaned over the Innocence cube and took it in her jaws. In the darkness Allen laughed as he saw that her teeth appeared to be glowing because of the Innocence's light.

_Okay, alright, I look odd. But how do we get back up there? We must be like fifty feet down or something._ Allen gave her a knowing grin.

"Leave that to me."

_______________________________________

**Author's Note: How am I doing? I'm trying to add some humor here and keep reader interest going. Plus I kinda suck at writing serious stuff, as you may discover later...which is funny because I tend to be pretty serious at times. But hopefully I've kept everyone in character so far, and introduced enough of Shiori's personality to make her interesting. She's sarcastic, annoying, rude, and has a mouth, but doesn't mind losing or being criticized (too much). She will mellow out soon and get used to being in The Order. I'm thinking about making her friendships Allen/Lenalee/Lavi/Chaoji/Miranda/Krory/the researchers specific but I'm not sure about any romantic relationships yet. I might not make her have any (and if I want to avoid Mary-Sue that might be a good thing). Besides that though I'm not that good at writing about relationships. Anyways, I'm going to try and make Shiori's personality unravel some more as the story continues. I also gave the Finder a slightly bigger role than he originally had; before I just described him as 'The Finder' and he didn't have a name, and except for giving directions he didn't talk much. I like the name Emile (Emil) so I picked it. :) He's an OC, not a main one, but I decided I wanted to explain who he was a bit.**

**I'm also trying my hand at finding real places around the world for them to visit to make things interesting and educational ;) The place I picked for Shiori's first mission and Allen and Kanda's hundredth or something one (bet they've lost count) was ****Saint-Guilhem-le-Désert that was an abbey before it was a city, and was founded by Guillaume d'Orange also known as Saint William. I remember looking up a city that was desert like and found a site that mentioned Saint-Guilhem-le-Désert, so I found out more about it. It's a pretty town, but small, about 200 or so as of 1999 according to Wikipedia. I changed the population since it would probably be smaller back in the 1800's. Well, there will be more to come. I'm not giving up on this story. :) I'm going to try and start uploading chapters at least once or twice a month to get into a routine (and so I can catch up with myself—I have a lot of chapters written already. In the Word document that has all of the chapters together, Chapter 6 is on page 42 of 212.)**


	9. Noah

Chapter Seven – Noah

"Come on, BaKanda, pull harder! Are a bean sprout and an overweight wolf too heavy for you?" Allen yelled at the top of his voice, taunting the exorcist above as Shiori clung to his shoulders in a piggyback fashion. An irate and straining voice sounded from above.

"Shut—_huff—_up—_huff_—Moyashi! Why do you weigh so much when you're such a shrimp?" Kanda and the Finder, Emile, had taken hold of the end of Allen's Clown Belt, which was wound around Allen and Shiori, and were slowly pulling them up.

_Hey, Allen, tell me seriously. You don't think I've gained weight, do you? I was just mad at you at first for saying I was overweight but I started to really wonder about it and.... _Shiori had asked the no-way-out question without really thinking about it and couldn't see the tense expression on her comrade's face. Allen began sweating both from fatigue and anxiety; Shiori could bite his ears off if he said the wrong thing. He vaguely felt annoyance at her thinking about something like that at a time like this but couldn't actually think it because she'd hear him.

"Um...well....your Innocence is a Parasite type too so you need to eat a lot....maybe a few pounds but since you...work so hard I bet you...you know...lose them with no problem...."

_Oh...so I have gained some then..._

"Er...h-hey, don't worry about it, alright? I was just joking, you know, trying to motivate Kanda. You're not overweight..." Allen's hands were gripping the Clown Belt tightly but his palms were becoming sweaty, so every now and then they'd slip down a few inches, "plus this isn't exactly the time to be worrying about that kind of thing..."

_Oh, right. Um....sorry...about that..._

"Don't bring me into your stupid conversations," Kanda yelled from above them and the two fell silent. The male Japanese exorcist continued muttering angrily for a while, during which Allen and Shiori took the time to take a breather, since they'd probably have to run for their lives once they reached the top. It was a new wonder of nature that the bad-tempered exorcist hadn't let go of the Clown Belt and let them fall all the way back down to the bottom of the recently-dug pit. Shiori glanced up and noticed the light from the sun was starting to brighten the deep hole, and figure they must be almost to the top. Soon enough, she had to narrow her eyes against the sunlight as it became even brighter. Allen reached up, grabbed the white strips of fabric and started to pull himself up as the edge of the hole came into sight. Kanda and Emile gave one last tug and yanked the two out of the hole. Allen and Shiori went flying as the last effort by Kanda and the Finder was a bit stronger than they'd realized...or Kanda was just getting revenge for the whole ordeal he'd been through.

Allen flew through the air with Shiori still riding piggyback and saw the ground coming quickly towards him; he flipped over in the air and landed neatly on his feet. A breeze suddenly blew by, kicking up puffs of dust, and Shiori sniffed a few times but couldn't hold it back and sneezed. The Innocence flew from her mouth and bounced a few times before rolling to a stop near Kanda. Allen laughed. "Bless you. Are you allergic to yourself?" Kanda gave Shiori a dirty look and even though the Innocence was right by his feet he obviously didn't want to pick it up. Shiori dropped from Allen's shoulders and trotted quickly over to the Innocence and picked it up again; once she had Kanda took off towards town. "Kanda, wait!" Allen shouted, running forward and grabbing Shiori's collar. He tugged the wolf along for a few moments before she started running on her own. The Finder caught up with them and they reached the town in a little less than an hour only to find that they'd missed the last train.

"Damn it," the trio heard Kanda curse as they finally skidded to a stop behind him, panting slightly. "We'll have to catch the next train tomorrow." He turned and glared again at the wolf. "Take care of that, mutt. I don't want to get your slobber all over me." Shiori growled, but Kanda ignored her and marched off down the dusty street towards an area that looked like the town square without another word or backward glance.

_Well, fine then! Jerk. _Shiori gave an annoyed snort.

"Well, that's Kanda," Allen stated awkwardly, rubbing his eyes; the mission had tired him out and he wasn't in the mood to start a fight. "Let's go find someplace to stay." Allen pulled something out of the front pocket of his exorcist coat, which he'd retrieved from the ground after they'd climbed out of the hole. It was a black Golem which he'd use in order to contact Komui back at The Black Order. Allen's gray-blue eyes glanced around the street for Kanda, but the other exorcist was nowhere to be seen.

"I'm going to call Komui and tell him what's going on. Would you guys go check the monastery and see if they have room for us to stay there? Oh, and Shiori, you can give the Innocence to Timcampy and he'll take care of it until we get back." Emile and Shiori nodded together.

"I'll explain things to the monks and we'll meet there once you're done." Allen looked up and nodded to Emile, then turned his back on the two of them as he focused on talking into the Golem. As Timcampy fluttered around to Shiori's face she leaned towards him to give him the Innocence in her mouth when Emile shot past her and made her fur swish around. The next thing she knew, the Finder's foot had lifted and stomped down, crushing the golden Golem underneath. Stunned, Shiori tilted her head back and took a few steps back from Emile in confusion as he ground his foot cruelly on the Golem. She couldn't even form a thought to wonder at what he was doing when he reached his hands for her, grabbed her by the collar, and tightened it so much that Shiori gagged and spat out the Innocence. Emile let go and the wolf collapsed, writhing, but trying to bite and claw at her collar to loosen it before she suffocated. _Emile..._ She thought, dazed, staring up at the Finder who held the glowing cube between his thumb and forefinger. _What are...you...doing...?_

Allen heard Shiori's pained and confused voice in his head and turned; he let the Golem drop from his hands as he took in what was happening. He stared at Emile holding the Innocence and then Shiori, thrashing in panic, and darted for her just as the Finder took off towards the small town square. His hands found the collar that was choking Shiori and digging into her skin and tried to find the buckle to undo it and finally undid it and yanked it free of her neck. Shiori gasped as the collar came off, and her panicked gasping turned into slow, deep breaths. In a few seconds she stood unsteadily and took one last deep breath before looking up gratefully at Allen. _You saved me....I thought I was dead for sure. _Allen sighed and tried to calm his rapidly beating heart; Shiori had started foaming at the mouth and her eyes had even rolled back a few times. He slid the collar carefully back around Shiori's neck and fastened it snugly but not as dangerously tight as Emile had moments before. As the shock from being strangled wore off Shiori's ears flew upright in alarm as she remembered; a second later the two were on their feet and in hot pursuit of the Finder.

* * *

Kanda emerged from a building holding a brown canteen of water; even though it was scarce in this arid region the people inside the small general store had been willing to give Kanda some. As he finished taking a drink someone sped past the exorcist, making him stumble back a few inches. He cursed at the person loudly, earning a few startled looks from the group of townspeople nearby, but the fleeing figure didn't stop or even look back. Kanda blinked and his irritated expression turned startled. Unless he was seeing things Emile had just torn past him and had been holding the Innocence they'd just recovered. _What are Moyashi and the mutt DOING?!_ He sprinted forward to give chase but felt something run into his legs and make him trip, then fall ungracefully to the ground.

Shiori had been chasing Emile but slammed into Kanda and now the two exorcists were tangled in a heap, Shiori whining and Kanda groaning. Allen darted past them but looked back when he realized what had happened.

_Keep going, Allen! We'll catch up!_

"Get off of me, wolf!" Kanda shouted furiously, pitching Shiori off of his back as he leapt upright and grabbed Mugen. "What's the meaning of this? Why did that Finder have the Innocence?" He demanded as he grabbed Mugen and bolted upright, resuming the chase.

Allen concentrated on Emile's retreating form that was fifteen or so feet in front of him. He couldn't send out Clown Belt when there were still people around, but without warning twenty of the townspeople burst their skin and towered up over the remaining ten shocked people, and he ground to a halt.

"Moyashi, go get that Finder!" Kanda shouted, drawing Mugen as he slashed a few Akuma in half, all in the space of a few seconds. Allen hesitated for a split second as his eye activated and throbbed as it sensed Akuma. Shiori halted and stared around at the Akuma, her dark eyes wide.

_Allen...I can see something....are these...souls?_

Allen glanced briefly down at Shiori and nodded, indicating his eye with a wave of his right hand. "Remember that I activated my eye the day you came to The Order? I knew you weren't an Akuma because I couldn't see your soul. When it's activated it allows others to see their souls, too."

"IDIOTS! Don't just stand there!" Kanda suddenly yelled.

Allen and Shiori leapt apart as a bullet hurtled for them; they escaped it just in time. Shiori lifted her head and howled, but the Akuma didn't explode instantly like the first one she'd fought; they appeared to freeze and hover in place. It granted Kanda enough time to attack, though, and he cut through the Akuma in under a minute. Shiori caught sight of Emile again but saw him change suddenly into a smaller shape. _A cat? What is going on with him?_ Allen had seen the change too and knew immediately what was going on. The white-haired exorcist darted past the people as the Akuma exploded above him and extended Clown Belt towards the running black cat. He managed to secure the white tendrils around the animal's back right leg and gave Clown Belt a sharp tug, yanking the animal into the air. A black blur shot past Allen and towards the cat. Allen used Clown Belt to help steer the cat towards the ground as Shiori tightened her teeth into the cat's body and fell towards the ground, slamming the animal hard into the pavement and knocking the Innocence from its mouth. The cat recovered quickly however and leapt up towards the glowing cube, a second after Shiori did. The wolf stretched her jaws and kept her eyes on the Innocence, then grabbed it securely between her teeth just before the cat did. Allen called Clown Belt back and drew his sword, then leapt at the cat and slashed at it. Kanda had caught up by this time too and slashed Mugen towards the cat, who flipped head over tail in midair and avoided both of the attacks.

Shiori, meanwhile, had jumped away from the cat and landed neatly on the ground. Making sure she kept the glowing cube firmly but carefully between her teeth she eyed the cat warily, and finally noticed the white four pointed star on its forehead, whereas before she'd been too busy chasing down the darn thing to notice. Allen and Kanda kept their weapons at the ready. The three of them were standing in a triangle formation around the cat, and Shiori watched, inwardly startled as the cat's limbs and body expanded and shot upwards. In seconds the feline's body had morphed to a human with gray skin, black hair, and black crosses across the forehead. The figure was wearing a black suit, glasses, and top hat. Shiori now understood that Allen and Kanda had known instantly when the cat had taken human form—maybe even before—who this figure was. Black glasses covered her eyes, but as the wolf watched the person pulled them off and slid them into her coat pocket. Allen leapt back towards Shiori without taking his eyes off the Noah. Allen and Shiori widened their eyes when the figure briefly took on the appearance of the Finder, Emile, then returned to her previous form and gave an ominous smirk. Shiori began shaking and her tail tucked between her legs in distress.

_Is this really Emile? Or is it an Akuma?_ Shiori looked sideways towards Allen and forced herself to calm down and think clearly—something that was difficult once she was on edge.

"No, I'd be able to tell because of my eye, remember? That's one of the Noah Clan—Lulubell. She must have taken Emile's place...maybe after he left to see the conductor." He dropped his voice and murmured, "Give the Innocence to Timcampy and keep him close; we can't let her get it again. If she does, she'll destroy it." The golden Golem fluttered up to Shiori and flapped frantically. A seam appeared in Timcampy's body as his mouth yawned open, and the wolf leaned closer to the golden golem and tossed her head; Timcampy closed his mouth and gulped when the Innocence landed between his teeth. Then the golem flew around to Shiori's collar and nestled himself under the band, gripping the wolf's fur with his tiny hands and small but serrated teeth. Allen and Shiori stiffened as Lulubell gave a slow chuckle and peered at them from under her hat.

"Come now, just hand that over. It would be easier for you, but if you require convincing, I can give it to you." The Noah said calmly, almost thoughtfully, but Shiori's fur prickled and she felt her lips curling back in a growl.

"Just try and get it," Allen snapped, then activated his Innocence and ran straight towards the Noah.

**Author's Note: Aw crud. Shiori has to stop losing the Innocence.**

** A canine chasing a feline...well, go figure.**

** I don't have much to say, except that I hope I'm still keeping everyone in character. Battle scene coming up next...and I'll say in advance I hope I did a good job writing it. I can't write battles very well but we'll see. At the time I was writing this chapter I should have been studying. But I did well on all my tests even if I didn't study enough, and I even did well on my Economics final (which I never have to take again since I passed, whoot!). No offense to Economics lovers though, I'm just not good at it ^^;**

** And just a little note: I don't know how frequently I'll be able to upload chapters or write in the upcoming months. A ton of things are happening: my sister's getting married, I'm going to visit my relatives after that, and then from July 2 to August 26 I'll be in Taiwan studying abroad. I will have a laptop with me and I am planning to take my in progress story files with me on a flash drive to try and upload chapters during free time but I'm not sure how much of that I'll have between Mandarin Chinese in the morning and Taiwan Culture in the afternoon. But I'll see how things go. I hear Taiwan has really good internet connections but if I can't upload chapters there will be a hiatus for a while and I apologize for that...but I won't give up on the story. Review please if you would be so kind, and have a good summer! Good luck on those Finals everyone! :)**


	10. Recovery

Chapter Eight – Recovery

* * *

Kanda sprang away from Lulubell and lifted Mugen.

"First Illusion: Hell's Insects!" A swarm of monstrous insects streamed from around Kanda and flowed through air towards Lulubell, but just as they were about to surround and consume her she leapt into the air and shot her arms out towards Kanda. Shiori barked a warning as her arms stretched and became long, thick whips. They tore through the group of insects and ripped them apart, then continued for Kanda, who quickly got over his shock of the attack being pushed aside so easily. The exorcist brought Mugen up before the arm hit him and held it back for a few moments, but was suddenly tossed into a building. A shower of debris flew out from the impact site, but a second later Kanda was emerging from the debris with a glowing Mugen still in hand. Allen tensed his legs and sprang up toward Lulubell and swung his sword at the same time Kanda did, but the Noah suddenly dropped down out of harm's way and shot both her whip-like arms for Shiori, who leapt over one and then the other as if she were jump-roping. One finally tripped her up, allowing the other to strike her. Lulubell smirked as she wrapped it around the wolf's body tightly before yanking her twenty feet into the air, and then accelerating her toward the ground at about eighty miles an hour. She howled in alarm as she was swung towards the ground, and Lulubell released Shiori seconds before impact, causing the wolf to create a deep, wide crater in the pavement. Timcampy was still clinging to the wolf's fur but had begun flapping his wings frantically, trying to stir Shiori into moving.

Lulubell shot her arms towards the fallen exorcist again, and the whips changed into sharp trident-looking prongs, but right before the impact Shiori lunged towards the golden golem and snatched him in her jaws, then pushed off the ground and leapt up into the air just in time. Allen felt relief flood through him but saw that the wolf hadn't escaped injury; her front right paw appeared to be twisted in a sickening way—it was probably broken, and his suspicions were confirmed when Shiori landed next to him and didn't put her weight on the injured paw. She also growled and twitched her ears in pain when she breathed. He looked at her, concerned, but she shrugged and sprang at Allen, shoving him aside as Lulubell's arm, back to a whip, created a deep rut in the ground where they'd been moments before. Allen pressed his hand into the pavement and used the surface to help him flip over so he wouldn't slam into the hard cobblestone.

Shiori twisted her head to make sure Timcampy was beneath her collar and saw a flash of gold—he and the Innocence were safe. Allen brought his sword up to block after flipping over and fended off another strike from Lulubell's arms, now in the form of two swords, but they continued striking at the broadsword and Allen was being forced slightly back a few inches each time they hit. Kanda suddenly darted in from the right and Shiori saw a chance: she lunged past Lulubell's whip arm and bared her teeth, drawing a long red streak down the coil's grey surface. She ended the attack with a jerk of her head, which ripped the gash open even wider and caused blood to splatter the wolf and the pavement. The arm whipped around to knock her away but she quickly landed on the ground, avoiding her injured paw, and sprang back up and out of the way of danger, but just barely. Her injuries were starting to slow her down, so it was either finish this fast or lose the Innocence and the fight.

Kanda sliced Mugen down the length of Lulubell's arm as well, and sprang out of the way of the flailing arm in a similar fashion as Shiori had. Allen was charging between the thick, whipping limbs now, and had replaced his sword arm and had long claws ready to slash the final blow on Lulubell. It happened before Allen could blink; the arms came together around him and wrapped around his body, crushing his arm to his body and immobilizing him. He let out a long scream as he felt something in his left arm crack, but Lulubell didn't let him try and deal with the pain. She began squeezing him tighter, and Allen began losing the ability to breathe properly. Shiori snarled angrily and charged Lulubell, but the female Noah suddenly flung Allen at her, which sent both of them flying into a nearby building with a deafening crash of stone and wood. Kanda growled and suddenly Mugen grew a brighter blue. "Two Illusion Blades!" Seconds later Kanda was holding two glowing swords that were connected behind him by the same blue light.

Lulubell, although injured and bleeding from Kanda and Shiori's attacks, merely raised an eyebrow, unconcerned, as Kanda charged her and swung the swords over each other: one towards her midsection and the other towards her head. She merely leaned over backwards and did a flip and slight twist, avoiding both the glowing swords. She flung her bleeding arms at him and he jumped over both, but suddenly flung one at him from above and the other from below. Still being in midair he was struck by them and tossed backwards. He gave a yell as he flew and turned to face the impact as he headed for the building Allen and Shiori had been thrown into, but a white and gray blur suddenly shot towards him, grabbing his arm and launching him away from the building to shoot towards the ground. Kanda righted himself and landed on his feet, as did the figure that had caused him to avoid flying into a building.

"You alright, Kanda?" Allen asked, gripping his broadsword, but Kanda didn't reply. His gaze traveled to where Shiori was standing with her paws, even the broken one, firmly planted on the ground. She crouched and gave a snarl that sounded like a howling cry when it echoed off of the buildings that hadn't been demolished by the battle. Lulubell, seeing the one who had the Innocence, directed her arms towards the wolf. When Shiori was inches from being hit, Lulubell's arms suddenly halted, as if invisible hands had gripped them both and stopped them cold. The wolf made a quick movement towards Lulubell, who responded but seemed to be moving at a fourth of her usual speed. Kanda saw her face contort in shock as Shiori darted back and forth past the Noah, slashing her teeth and claws across her arms and body, leaving long and deep gashes. The wolf then leapt up into the air after countless repeated hits and then let herself fall down, pinning her limbs so that she fell faster. Lulubell tried to pull her arms up to defend and hurl the wolf away but her body still felt sluggish; what was happening with her body? She could only watch as the exorcist wolf free-fell towards her, teeth bared threateningly, aiming for her...Lulubell felt the teeth sink into her body and she gasped in shock. The wolf's fangs had penetrated her chest and just missed her heart; she was still alive but couldn't move. As Shiori withdrew her fangs violently, Lulubell watched her jump away about ten feet and growl, and then lift her head to the heavens. A resolute, piercing howl flooded the air and sent chills through the Noah.

Allen and Kanda felt their bodies tingling as the howl continued, and neither of them felt pain from their injuries anymore—they were still there but the two seemed to have been given a dose of adrenaline, which let the pain be temporarily dulled, and made them able to push their bodies past normal limits. The two exorcists lifted their weapons and streaked towards Lulubell, feeling power reenergize and strengthen every muscle in their bodies. The two leapt once they were a few feet from Lulubell and aimed their weapons down once gravity started pulling them back down; Allen's sword and Kanda's Mugen buried deep into the Noah's chest. An enraged, but agonized scream tore itself from Lulubell's throat as the weapons entered her body, then ripped out excruciatingly, sending arcs of blood everywhere. The Noah lay stunned as Kanda and Allen backed off, gripping their weapons in preparation in case Lulubell rose again.

"I....will...have your....Innocence....then we'll find the Heart, and destroy it—" the Noah rasped painfully, forcing herself up with her arms, which had changed back to normal. Suddenly Lulubell transformed them back into whips, flung them at Kanda and Allen and sending the two exorcists flying. Allen was tossed off into town where his body impacted into the cobblestone ground and tumbled over and over several times before skidding to a halt on his back. His gray-blue eyes were half-closed and dim, and his breath was coming in fast pants as the old pain of his arm came back, and the new pain of his torn skin ripped harshly through his body. Kanda, after being hit with Lulubell's whip arm, was caught and constricted before he could hit anything. His eyes squeezed shut and he struggled uselessly, his arms pinned so that he couldn't raise Mugen and attack. Shiori stumbled forward a little on three paws, then slammed all four against the ground as she charged Lulubell and jumped towards the tendril that was holding Kanda. Baring her fangs, she tried to send all her power and accuracy into her teeth and prayed this attack would do what she need it to. She bit upwards and raised her claws, slashing, saw it coming closer....she had to make her aim perfect.

Her fangs bit into the arm, her front and back claws raked it repeatedly, trying to slash through. Lulubell lashed Shiori with her other arm and Shiori was barely managing to hold on but finally the mangled limb severed and let Kanda fall to the ground. Shiori sank her fangs and claws into his arms and shoulders then kicked off of the mangled whip-like arm of Lulubell's, which was still morphed, and leapt as far as she could away from the Noah. Shiori knew she'd be in for a rough landing when she felt her mind buzz with dizziness and her limbs tremble with fatigue. She and Kanda hit the ground hard and rolled over for a few moments before tumbling to a halt. Kanda shoved Mugen's tip into the cobblestone ground and pushed himself up, then held the sword out, but detected no movement from Lulubell. He waited for at least ten minutes with Mugen still drawn, waiting for her to get up and attack once again, but couldn't even make out the Noah's chest rising as she breathed in and out. He dared to step closer, and when he did, stepped back quickly as a dim red light surrounded the Noah's body. He blinked and suddenly Lulubell had vanished, leaving only an impression in the grass, showing where she'd been. Well, either her body had disintegrated or one of the other Noah had bailed her out. Either way, he was leaving while he still could.

Grimacing slightly he put Mugen away (against his better instincts) and grabbed the wolf around the collar, then yanked her up in a rapid movement, slinging her limp body over his shoulders. Trudging over to where Moyashi had fallen, he began to search for the younger exorcist's attention-grabbing white hair and finally spotted it among the rubble of a building. Kanda noticed that his Crown Clown cape had been replaced by his exorcist coat. Bright red blood welled under skin that was visible under his torn clothes. The moyashi's face and hands had been torn and in some places were bleeding heavily and already bruising blue, purple, and black. He could tell that the Moyashi had a few broken bones and probably a concussion. Kanda rolled his eyes as he realized he might have to carry the wolf and Moyashi to the train.

Kanda started to reach for the exorcist's arm, but stepped back as the younger teen's gray-blue eyes opened weakly. Timcampy flew out from beneath Shiori's collar and over towards Allen's face, flapping his wings hard, sending up a little breeze that made the exorcist's white hair fly around a bit. Shiori clawed for the ground and soon rolled off Kanda's shoulders, and he swiped a hand for her but she growled at him.

"Timu...." Allen said weakly, then ground his teeth and winced as Kanda grabbed his arm and pulled him up. Kanda heard shuffling nearby and glanced around to see the wolf dragging herself to a limp shape that hadn't been there before. The swordsman narrowed his eyes and realized that the body was Emile, the Finder that Lulubell had impersonated. He lay Allen back down on the ground and moved swiftly towards the canine and Emile, raising Mugen in a swift movement that made Shiori lift her head sharply and snarl at Kanda.

_What are you doing?!_ Shiori yelled in her mind but Kanda didn't hear her and lifted Mugen.

"Out of the way. We can't take any chances, whether he is a real Finder or not. I'm not waiting to be attacked again."

_He's not a Noah, Kanda! He's really Emile. I can tell. I knew something was funny about him before—his scent! I know he's the real Finder now! _Shiori wished, for the thousandth time, that she could speak but had to just face Kanda, holding her ground while she tried to stop him from killing Emile.

"Move. I won't warn you again and I won't try to avoid hitting you," Kanda growled threateningly, lifting Mugen in preparation to attack. He ran his fingers swiftly across Mugen and its surface glowed blue; Shiori growled and lunged towards Kanda. Her Innocence suddenly activated and a second later she bit down on Kanda's blade and let her back paws touch down firmly into the ground, giving her support as she strained against the powerful exorcist, who was starting to push her back with minimal effort. With a powerful swing Kanda lifted Shiori, who still had Mugen tightly between her teeth, and tossed her away where she collided with a building and crumpled to the ground. Pushing herself up she almost fell back down but tried to run again for Kanda as he raised Mugen high once again, not wasting any time as he brought it slashing down. "You asked for it. Another Accommodator can be found in place of you, and another Finder can certainly replace _him_, too."

"Kanda!" Allen's distraught voice called from behind the swordsman, who ignored it. But Kanda's arm suddenly froze as white energy suddenly flowed around the four of them and Timcampy and he only had time to notice that the white light flitting around his body was tinged with green before he felt like he was being yanked through a wind tunnel. The scenery around him blurred and he felt himself blacking out.

Author's Note: OH SNAP! Where will the portal take them!? Anyway, as always, tell me how I'm doing. Good, bad, miserable, boring? I'm just trying to see if I could write a D. Gray-Man fanfic and be pretty happy with it even if others aren't but I hope you're all enjoying it ^^ I should start recording the dates I edit and write new chapters...I started writing the story sometime in September 2008, but I can't remember exactly which date. I guessed September 20. Anyway, leave a review if you would please! I don't think I'm that good at writing battle scenes. Hope I didn't make anyone out of character, or Shiori too strong or whatever—still trying to stay away from the OOC and Mary Sue thing. Also upcoming battle scenes will be better (hopefully). I thought that one kinda sucked, but they say the first thing you write is the best, so I just kept it like it was (I wanted to change it at first because I thought it was stupid and too short). Meh. ^^ 


	11. Return

Chapter Nine – Return

Allen gave a hard cough, Shiori a yelp, and Emile a faint groan as they slammed to the floor with dull thuds. Yelping and shouting followed shortly after as Kanda fell out of midair and thudded to the ground on top of Allen, forcing what little breath he had left out of his lungs. Kanda grunted as he came awake and pushed himself off of the two now unconscious exorcists and dazed, then brushed long dark bangs out of his face. He didn't feel too bad, thanks to the wolf, Finder, and Moyashi breaking his fall, and he only had some scrapes and bumps that had already healed, but the other three would probably need to spend time in the infirmary. Scoffing he grabbed Shiori's collar and yanked her across his shoulders like before, then moved to grab Allen's arm. A voice that never failed to grate on his nerves made him twitch.

"Yuu! You're back from the mission! You better go talk to Komui! And there's someone else you should—" Lavi exclaimed in a quick stream of words, but was cut off roughly by Kanda.

"Shut up, idiot, and help me get these three to the Infirmary." Lavi finally noticed the wolf's limp body that was slung across Kanda's shoulders like a sack, and that Allen was lying still on the floor. The redhead rushed over to his friend, grabbed his right arm, and slung it over his shoulder. A flash of gold made Lavi jump slightly as he bent to grip Emile's arm.

"Lavi...we got the Innocence," Allen croaked weakly as he opened his eyes a few inches. The redhead looked over at Allen and saw the golden golem nestled calmly in Allen's white hair. "Timcampy has it," he murmured sleepily as his eyes slid shut. Lavi stiffened in concern, but then realized that Allen had just nodded off from exhaustion, and the white haired exorcist's shoes scraped the floor as he was dragged down the hallway. Lavi had Emile's left arm across his shoulders but the Finder was managing to stumble along using Lavi for support. Lavi tried to quicken his pace when he felt something getting his clothes wet—blood, probably from both Allen and Emile. He hadn't seen how badly they'd been hurt but judging by the blood it seemed pretty bad.

"So, Yuu, you got the Innocence, but what happened to the Finder? He looks like he tried to fight with you guys." Kanda's teeth ground together as he glared over at Emile.

"The Finder was replaced some time during the mission by a Noah." He scowled. "I can see those two not noticing but I can't believe I didn't. Their stupidity must be rubbing off on me." Lavi's eyes narrowed as he glared at Kanda.

"F-forgive me...Master Kanda..." The swordsman scowled at Emile as he gave an apology in a weak voice. "I failed to do my job, and what's worse I also failed to make yours easier."

"Damn right you did. You're supposed to help us find Innocence, not help us lose them." Emile looked at the ground and didn't reply.

_Wait just a second. I dropped the Innocence, not Emile. _A tired, but annoyed voice sounded in Kanda's head, making him flinch in surprise.

"What's the matter?" Lavi asked, giving Kanda a questioning look.

"Nothing...let's keep going." _Why can I hear that mutt's voice?_

_Don't ask me. Oh wait, it's because I bit your sword when it was activated! I forgot about that._

_ ...So I not only have to see you but hear you as well?_

_Yes. I don't know any way to undo this._

_Just be quiet. You had better not have fleas._

_ Oh, you hate fleas, huh?_

_ Everyone hates fleas!_

_ What did the fleas ever do to you?_

_ Do you have them or not?_

_ Relax. I got rid of them years ago._

To Kanda's relief, they had reached the Infirmary and he quickly put the wolf down on an empty bed while Lavi headed towards two others that were empty. Matron and Komui glanced up sharply, and Komui saw who Kanda and Lavi were setting on three of the beds and his expression became grave. Matron saw them as well and, not wasting any time, hurried over to Allen and immediately began assessing his injuries. She pulled off his exorcist jacket and began. She saw that he had scrapes and bruises, then ran her fingers along his right arm to check for broken bones. Finding none she moved her hand to his left arm and pressed it with her fingers gently, then checked his hand the same way. Kanda left, muttering about 'stupid dogs and fleas'.

"Severe lacerations, three broken fingers, and a broken wrist." Her fingers travelled to his head, where she felt a bump near the back of his neck that was the size of a fist-sized rock. "Minor concussion, probably." Matron pried Allen's eyes open gently and checked his pupils. "He seems fine, but will probably be a little confused when he wakes up. He got hit hard there. Supervisor, check her, will you? And Lavi, check the Finder." The woman gave out the orders smoothly, without stopping what she was doing, and they darted over to the wolf without any second asking. Shiori lay on her left side on the bed, her head resting where a person's feet would be. Komui took her right front paw carefully in his hand and stroked it a little. Shiori gave a weak whine, and his suspicions were confirmed; her wrist was bent a little oddly, and he guessed her leg was broken. He noticed he'd barely been able to hear her whines of pain when he touched her paw, too, and figured out why since her Innocence was her voice—it seemed like she'd used it a lot while on the mission when she wasn't used to doing so repeatedly. Looking up Komui saw that Matron had just finished cleaning Allen's scrapes and was bandaging them.

Lavi strode over to Emile and carefully pulled him to a sitting position. He pulled off the long tan Finder's jacket and white mouth cover, which were both ripped and bloody, to see how badly he'd been hurt. Throwing the articles of clothing on the floor Lavi pulled up Emile's white sleeves and checked for broken bones and stopped prodding the left arm when it twitched away from him reflexively. "I think Emile's left arm is broken, and..." Lavi stared down at the white sheets and gave a start as he saw they had been soaking up blood and were now practically dripping in the sticky red liquid. He didn't have to look far for the source; long gashes had been ripped in both Emile's black dress pants and his skin. The redhead noticed the Finder's right ankle was bent in an odd way. Blood had stained the Finder's brown hair and Lavi immediately found a vertical cut running down the left side of his face, starting at the hairline, running past his ear to the beginning of his jaw line.

"Kimura's left front leg is broken and her voice seems to have been strained. Her paws are also torn slightly, but the bleeding seems to have stopped," Komui reported quickly but clearly. "What about Emile, Lavi?"

"Well...broken left arm, broken right ankle, cuts in his legs and a deep cut on the left side of his head." Matron had taken the Allen's left arm and was setting his forefinger, middle finger, and thumb. She put padded splints on each of them when she'd finished setting them, then wrapped thick white bandages around each of them and moved to his wrist and began to set it. She nodded her head towards an ice pack that was lying on the tray next to Allen's bed.

"Thank you, Supervisor. Put that on his head and I'll fix him up once I'm done with his wrist." Komui quickly obliged. "And Lavi, try and stop the bleeding on his injuries." Lavi found some large pieces of gauze around the size of hand towels and pressed them to the gashes on Emile's legs and pressed another to the one on his head. At first the blood just kept streaming out no matter how hard Lavi pressed but soon the blood flow began to lessen. In his sleep Allen twitched and gave a grunt of pain as Matron put the bones in his left wrist back in place, put a splint against his arm, and started to wrap bandages tightly around it. Once she was done Matron started treating Shiori. Komui remembered seeing a slightly-beaten up (and disgusted, for some reason) Kanda at the door, but he was nowhere to be seen now. Lavi glanced towards the door and chuckled slightly as he changed the blood-soaked gauze for some fresh pieces.

"Oh, that Yuu. Wanted to get out of here ASAP. He didn't seem as badly injured as any of them...and I doubt he'd sit still long enough to get a checkup anyway." Komui noticed Timcampy was nestled in Lavi's palm, and as he watched the golden golem shuddered, then coughed something up into the red-haired exorcist's left hand. "Thanks, Timcampy. They managed to get it back from that Noah Lulubell after she swiped it from them." Komui stiffened and narrowed his eyes; it had been too close a call. "Kanda told me as much before he left."

"Do you mind taking it to Hevlaska, Lavi?" Komui asked as Matron finished treating Shiori. She rushed over to Emile and took over for Lavi, who stood and stretched.

"Nope, I'll be right back. Look after those guys. After I go to Hevlaska I'm going to tell Lenalee and everyone they're back." Komui lifted a hand cheerfully and waved as Lavi left the infirmary with the glowing Innocence in his hand.

"Hey...where's the Innocence...?" Allen murmured, but sounded like he was sleep-taking.

"Lavi has it," Komui explained calmly, even if he was asleep. "He took it to Hevlaska." By the time Lavi returned with Lenalee and Miranda, Allen was in a deep sleep and Matron had set Shiori's broken bones and given her a drink that would help her throat and make her sleep better. While they were waiting Komui suggested that Shiori practice singing everyday so she could make her voice stronger, which would prevent any problems when she was on the battlefield. If her voice was stronger she could keep her Innocence activated for longer and have quicker recovery times if she strained her voice like today.

Lavi returned shortly after that with Kanda and Lenalee trailing behind him. Lavi had managed to coax Kanda back because another firsthand account of what happened on the mission was needed. Komui passed the ice pack to Lenalee, and she curled her fingers around the back of Allen's neck and lifted his head before pressing the ice pack to the swelling on the back of his head. Her ears intently tuned in as her older brother began questioning the Japanese exorcist.

"So the Finder that accompanied you was attacked and then impersonated by Lulubell?" Komui asked, a feeling of apprehension knotting in his stomach.

"Yes," Kanda replied, looking touchy.

"And how did you get back here, if it wasn't the train?"

"We fell through a portal," Kanda said shortly, leaving Komui to figure out what that meant on his own.

"Road," Allen's voice suddenly whispered, and everyone in the room turned their heads toward him; he seemed to have been dozing instead of sleeping. "She can create portals. Could it have been her?" Komui shook his head and held up a hand—he knew exactly how they'd gotten back but had wanted to their account of what happened.

"I wouldn't start panicking yet, Allen-kun. Since we were all so busy treating you we didn't get a chance to tell you. There's someone I want you to meet." He looked towards the door and called, "Kisho, come in now." A boy of around fourteen with chestnut brown, stringy hair entered and glanced around the room carefully. At first glance he appeared to be carefree but upon closer inspection his eyebrows were dipped slightly, showing he was wary of the people around him. His clothes consisted of a white Chinese shirt with black buttons, dark blue pants, and black shoes. Kanda narrowed his eyes as he studied the kid's features: sharp, dark brown eyes that seemed analyzing and confident even though he was in an unfamiliar place. His face was devoid of any lingering baby fat but still looked childish—the kid was in his young teens after all and Kanda hated that about this kid and Shiori—they were just brats running around pretending to be exorcists. Kanda suddenly noticed that something resembling a sickle with a two or three foot long wooden handle was tied to his back with a thick brown strap. The sickle itself was wrapped in a thick black cloth.

"What are you doing here, brat?" Kisho glanced towards Kanda and raised an eyebrow. "You don't look fit to be anything but a Finder," Kanda scoffed, his teeth gritted. Kisho turned slowly towards Kanda and locked eyes with him, studying the older male's face carefully. Kanda was much taller than Kisho—the young teenager's head only came up to Kanda's chest, but Kisho didn't seem intimidated. He gave a slight grin, one that showed self-assurance rather than arrogance. Shiori raised her head and pricked her ears as she finally realized who the newcomer was, but couldn't believe her eyes.

"Well, I'm not a Finder—I'm an exorcist."

A vein began throbbing on the Kanda's head as Kisho laughed. The swordsman was about to reach for Mugen but Komui stepped between the two, saving Kisho the trouble of dealing with the angry exorcist. Even if the kid had avoided a slash from Mugen it would be conflict they could avoid.

"Settle down. I haven't even introduced you all yet. Try and save the bloodshed for later, please," Komui said firmly, and Kanda scoffed again. "Everyone, this is Kisho Morioka. According to his report, you should know him, Shiori." Kisho finally looked towards the black-furred wolf lying on a bed and his eyes widened.

_Kisho!_ Allen, Lenalee, and Miranda jumped as Shiori's excited voice echoed in their heads. Komui and Kisho gave them strange looks. Kanda gave Shiori a scathing look—he could now hear her too, but wished he couldn't and hated Shiori for preventing him from killing Emile to make sure they weren't attacked again. It was hard enough being around Shiori without her thoughts barging in on his.

"Shiori, do you know him?" Miranda asked.

_Yes! I haven't seen him for years!_

"Shiori, is that really you? I guess...I thought you were someone's pet or something. You look older even though it's hard to tell how old you are." Kisho pushed past Lavi, Komui, and Miranda in his haste to reach her. "Kimura Shiori?" Shiori licked her brother's face and wagged her tail furiously. "No way! Shiori! I knew what happened to you—I mean, that you weren't human anymore—but I never knew you ended up here...it's been ages..." Allen stared dumbly as the kid raised his hand and brought it down hard on Shiori's head. "You IDIOT! Why weren't you at the China Branch!" Kisho yelled loudly, startling everyone. "It's closer to Japan! Didn't Tiedoll mention it was nearby? Or were you not listening?" Kanda gave the slightest smirk and Lavi burst out laughing, while Shiori whined and lowered her head, which caught Lenalee's interest—in the presence of Kisho she seemed a lot meeker than normal. If anyone else had said something like that to her Shiori would have acted like she hadn't heard anything, or said something rude back...or growled back, rather. Komui stepped forward and put a hand on Kisho's shoulder.

"Kisho, calm down. You can talk about this later—they need to get rest now. I'm glad to see that you made it here safely. How was everyone at the China Branch?" Kisho looked over his shoulder and up at Komui.

"They're fine, and they helped me out a lot. I'm glad Cloud Nyne took me there...too bad a certain someone else wasn't there too." Shiori lowered her ears, looking humiliated and guilty. Lavi started laughing again. Kisho thought the main branch of The Black Order was impressive but he liked the easy accessibility to the China Branch—it was in a quiet bamboo grove and didn't require climbing to reach. Kisho had used the sickle on his back as a sort of climbing hook as he scaled the long cliff to the main Black Order Branch. Bak told him he didn't have to go there to be trained as an exorcist, but when he heard that Shiori was there, he made up his mind to go. Shiori lifted her head and nudged Kisho's face with her nose, causing him to splutter and step away.

"Well, I guess it doesn't matter now. That general—Tiedoll—came by a few times—the first time about a year ago and the second a few months ago—and told us you were doing alright. I was mad at you for leaving, but I'm an exorcist too, now. I guess I understand now that you had to go. We can hang out like we always did, right? Hey, are you going to be a wolf forever? Tiedoll said if you used your Innocence enough you could go back to human again." Komui interrupted the new exorcist again and received a questioning look.

"Kisho," Komui said sternly, and the teenager reluctantly fell silent and began listening. "You know Shiori already, it seems, so I'll introduce everyone else. This is Lenalee, my younger sister." Lenalee gave a polite smile and Kisho returned it. "This is Lavi, apprentice to Bookman. He's a good ally to have. You'll meet Bookman another time."

"Yo," Lavi said unceremoniously, flicking his hand in a gesture Kisho assumed was a wave.

"That is Kanda, and if he lets you, you'll learn more about him later."

"Not likely," Kanda scoffed, then left the room. Komui smiled faintly and shook his head, then gestured towards Miranda, who smiled shyly and nodded at Kisho, who nodded back and gave her a friendly look.

"This is Miranda Lotto. She's very reliable in battle and I trust you'll get along well with her." The German woman blushed and looked at her feet, and Komui turned to Allen.

"This is Allen Walker. He's also been a good asset to The Black Order." The white-haired teenager smiled slightly and Kisho glanced at him briefly and nodded in greeting before looking at Komui again. "They just got back from a mission, and are injured and tired; they need to rest for a while. Don't you want to see the rest of the Order and your room now?" Kisho shrugged his shoulders with his arms still crossed.

"Alright," Kisho replied slowly. His eyes were hesitant—he wanted to talk to Shiori more about what she'd been doing the past two years—but he didn't want to be the reason Allen and Shiori didn't heal properly so he agreed to leave. Komui waved to the exorcists and followed Kisho out of the room.

Shiori's dark eyes had been studying her brother for the past few minutes. Kisho was confident (too confident, and annoying, some would say) and loved to speak his mind—loudly—but Shiori knew well that her friend was a considerate person. Even though Kisho tried to hide it he was a bit of a softie. _It's so good to see him again. _Shiori thought, causing Allen and Lenalee to smile softly.

"Shiori…what did Kanda say before? It was something about…um, fleas?" Lenalee asked cautiously, and suddenly Shiori realized why she had been keeping her distance. Lavi leaned away from the wolf, who lifted her head in surprise, then groaned and lowered her head sourly.

_I do not have fleas. Just like I told Kanda, I got rid of them! _She narrowed her eyes. _A long time ago, too! _

"Of course you don't have fleas," Allen said evilly, his sinister card face on. "I'm sure we can schedule a flea bath for you. And maybe Komui can design an exorcist flea collar as well." Shiori barked loudly and pinned her ears in frustration.

_Shut up!_

New Author's Note: EDIT—I noticed I made Miranda say she could hear Shiori even though she can't yet…. (Slaps forehead) But I found that little problem and just fixed it. If anyone noticed, good for you, because I didn't for ages and this chapter was released years ago. Embarrassing. XD And I had Shiori call Kisho an 'old friend' but changed it to 'brother'. I guess your siblings can be your friends but usually you don't call them that, so I changed that, too.

Old Author's Note: Might have been a weird place to leave off but it wasn't really a cliffhanger this time. I cut it off there because the chapter would have been too long otherwise.

It's been a few chapters since I did an Author's Note...but I want to say that this chapter is special because it's being uploaded from Taiwan! That's right, I'm in Taiwan! I applied and got a scholarship for two months there and I left the U.S. July 2nd and got to Taiwan July 3rd. I started editing this Tuesday, 10:41 PM, 8:43 AM where I live (Mountain Time) and finished editing it today, July 10, 2009, Friday. It's very hot and humid here and has rained hard a few times this week (rare for where I live except it's been rainy there too for a while. We have a lot of new flowers because of it). Mostly it's been really sunny and still hot in Taiwan this week. I just started taking Mandarin Chinese classes today. The class was alright but when I met my study partner and studied that was fun. I think I'm starting to understand the accent a little already.

Well, hope you liked the chapter. Good night from Taiwan for now. Wan an! (Goodnight!)


	12. The Dream

Chapter Ten - Dream

Before Kisho had left with Komui, Shiori had been studying the young teenager intently. Kisho was confident (too confident, and one who liked to occasionally pester people) and loved to speak his mind—loudly—but Shiori knew well that her brother was a considerate person. Even though Kisho tried to hide it, he was a bit of a softie. And since Komui had left, Lenalee's hand had moved slowly to touch Allen's hand gently.

"Has he already seen Hevlaska?" Miranda questioned from behind Lenalee, who was still sitting next to Allen's bed. Since he'd woken up somewhat her hand had withdrawn hastily to sit in her lap but she had a faint blush across her cheeks.

"Komui said that he took him before he brought him to meet us. Hevlaska accepted him as an exorcist and reported that he was synchronized to forty percent. Komui told me that he got it half a year ago," Lavi recalled, the words coming easily to his mind since, being the Junior Bookman, he always had to memorize things.

_Half a year ago! So he was training at the Asia Branch for half a year... _Shiori thought to herself, but Allen, Miranda, and Lenalee heard her. Kanda might have heard her too but probably had missed part of the conversation (though Shiori didn't know how far her thoughts reached).

"Oh, yeah, and as you saw it was an Equip type," Lavi continued, looking and sounding bored. "It's going to be harder than if it was a Parasite type in a few ways. He won't be able to fully synchronize with it and his synchronization is a little low, meaning it could be hard for him to handle. He has to be halfway synchronized or higher to go on missions."

"Right," Allen said quietly. Only Parasite type exorcists could fully synchronize with their Innocence—the exception was Lenalee. "Wonder what its form is. It didn't look like any weapon I've seen before and it doesn't look too big...but then, that's probably good since he isn't too tall."

"He doesn't really look too strong either...he's skinny, too," Lavi agreed, leaning against the wall near the door with his arms crossed.

_It's a sickle. _Shiori explained to Allen, who repeated the message to Lavi. Lenalee and Miranda listened even though they'd heard it already. _He knew how to farm so he helped us with the crops the people grew in town. There weren't really any fighters in our town, and since farmers weren't really allowed to have weapons anyway, a sickle was as close to defending ourselves as we got. Kisho liked to use his sickle to plant stuff, too. He's actually really good at farming and even gardening, but he doesn't usually mention it to people._

_Three guesses why,_ Lavi and Allen thought, both glad Shiori couldn't hear them think.

_We both arranged flowers sometimes for our neighbors sometimes. Everyone in the town helped their neighbors with the farming if they didn't have work to do. It was a close community._

_But small,_ Lavi thought, furrowing his brow. _And most of the people didn't have anyone living outside that would try and bring them back. They were born in that town and stayed there. So why was it attacked by the Earl?_

"Komui and Hevlaska made his Innocence into that form for him, probably because he was used to using it, albeit in its non-Innocence form," Allen commented thoughtfully, while Lavi snickered to himself at the thought of Kisho working with flowers, something he thought wasn't a guy thing to do.

"What else do you know about him, Shady?"

_A lot...we're siblings, after all….we know pretty much everything about each other._ Shiori closed her eyes and fell asleep before she could finish, worn out from the mission and her injuries. Lavi and Lenalee noticed Allen had dropped off as well, and Lenalee's hand covered Allen's as she began stroking it softly.

"Man, they're lame. Kids can never stay up late."

"I'm about ready to turn in, too, though," Miranda said, yawning slightly. "It's twelve o' clock. Goodnight, Lenalee, Lavi." She turned and looked at Allen and Shiori, said 'good night' quietly and walked quietly out of the room. Lavi stretched his arms and sighed.

"I'm going to hit the cafeteria. I'm going to see if Jerry will give me a midnight snack. You coming, Lenalee?"

"No," she replied with a smile, shaking her head, "I'm going to watch Allen for a while and make sure he's okay. I was worried, but when that kid..."

"Oh, yeah...he did some weird psychic thing and sensed where they were, then brought them back here somehow. He started concentrating really hard and held out a hand, and then green light started glowing around him. Then he collapsed and said that they were back...that's when I went running off down the hall and found them. I guess he went to Hevlaska after he'd recovered. Didn't really seem like Innocence. Maybe Komui will tell us something later." Lenalee nodded.

"Maybe. Well, goodnight Lavi."

"Yeah, goodnight. Take care of Allen, but for yours, Allen's, and everyone else in the Order's sake, don't let Komui catch you like that," the redhead snickered before departing, leaving Lenalee to jerk her hand away from Allen's again and blush even redder. To try and dispel the blush Lenalee turned his thoughts to what could have possibly made Kisho tense up like that because according to Shiori he wasn't taken by surprise all that often, but something obviously had shocked him, a lot. Lenalee was worried about him, but an emotion that was stronger than that was curiosity.

* * *

_...Is this really...okay with you?_ The black wolf thought uncomfortably. Lenalee shook her head and smiled, rubbing shampoo into the wolf's fur and watching as the lavender scented liquid turned into lather.

"No, I don't mind. It will help you feel better and your injuries will heal better too and have less chance of leaving huge ugly scars. But you do usually take baths, though, don't you? Because you smell a little mousy. Are you sure you don't have fleas?" She asked, trying to hide a giggle. The wolf exorcist's fur was matted with curls and knots. A month ago Kanda, Allen, and Shiori had gone on an important mission to find an Innocence and they had, but a Noah had almost gotten it. A few weeks later Allen and Shiori had recovered enough to be released from the Infirmary, and almost immediately after that they'd been called to go on missions again. Today—the fifth of June—Shiori had come back dirty from a mission, and Lenalee had refused to let her go into The Black Order's baths to relax until she was completely clean. Lenalee had several buckets of cold water, which Shiori didn't mind since she was more than a little warm in her fur coat. As Lenalee rinsed the shampoo off of her with water from a bucket she relaxed and let her thoughts wander to her brother Kisho who had been accepted into the main branch of The Black Order a month ago (but had been training half a year before that), while Shiori had become one two months previous. Kisho had started his training then and was coming along well, getting stronger every day, but Shiori still had a hot feeling of worry for her little brother. Mentally slapping herself Shiori looked up towards Lenalee and answered her question.

_Yes, I take baths. And I'm sure I don't have fleas. You'd know because I'd be in a really bad mood and be scratching all the time._

"When you take baths do you lick yourself?" Lenalee asked seriously, trying not to laugh as Shiori shuddered.

_Definitely not! That's a cat thing._

"Do you like cats?" Shiori nodded and closed her eyes as Lenalee dumped more of the water over her head to get the shampoo off.

_I do, but they always ran away from me after I got my Innocence. It was kind of sad._

Kisho had visited Shiori, Allen, and the Finder Emile (who Shiori had become friends with) while they'd been stuck in the Infirmary and told them that his training was going well. Since his Synchronization level was below fifty he couldn't go on actual missions yet until Komui and Hevlaska were sure he had a fair amount of control. Shiori was slightly anxious with anticipation today; Kisho had gone with Komui to see Hevlaska so his Innocence could be checked. If it was above fifty percent and he seemed to be able to control it well without being in too much danger he'd be able to go on his first mission soon, and when he did Shiori hoped that she'd be assigned to go with him. The two girls turned as they heard footsteps and saw that Miranda was heading for them with a bucket of water. "Good morning!" She called cheerfully. "I just thought I'd bring this, and—" she never finished; the German exorcist tripped on a rock she hadn't noticed sticking out of the ground and fell forward, her arms waving, causing the bucket of water to fly out of her hands. Lenalee shrieked as the cold water splashed over her, then darted away from Shiori as she began to shake the water off.

"I'm really very sorry for that," Miranda sniffed, apologizing for the tenth time.

"Don't worry about it, Miranda. I was just startled when I screamed; it was actually nice since today's so hot." Miranda smiled and laughed softly, then looked over at Shiori, who was silently fighting off the urge to shake herself again and get everyone wet again; the sun had mostly dried them off.

"Kimura," Miranda startled Shiori out of her thoughts, "how about I call you Shiori? We've gotten to know each other since you first came, haven't we?" Shiori barked and wagged her tail. Shiori had participated in one major mission with Kanda and Allen where they'd found an Innocence and had a run-in with a member from the Noah Clan, Lulubell. Shiori had gone on several other missions after that: one with Chaoji where a few Level Two Akuma had suddenly begun attacking a town in Russia, another with another with Kanda and Lavi in Canada where a town had started to become slowly frozen over by a Level Three Akuma (Lavi's fire attack had really come in handy when they'd fought it, but even so they, minus Kanda, had spent a week and a few days in the Infirmary), and the most recent mission just a few weeks ago where Miranda, Krory, and Shiori had investigated a small town in Germany where a strange figure had been roaming through town: people had thought it to be a lonely ghost or an evil spirit, but it had really been a Level Two Akuma who at first had seemed just to want to scare people. Once confronted by the exorcists, however, it had gone on a rampage of the town. Miranda, Shiori, and Krory had been able to stop it before it was able to kill anyone, but there had been a few injuries, though thankfully they'd all been minor thanks to the Akuma's low level. The score or so of Level One Akuma that had accompanied it some damage had been done to the town but the three exorcists had volunteered to stay and help repair it. Shiori hadn't been able to do much to help rebuild but the town's children had slowly gotten used to her in the week and a half the three exorcists stayed and enjoyed playing with her as if she was a pet, something that had made Miranda and Krory chuckle about when she wasn't watching. They could easily tell Shiori really liked kids.

The desire to go on a mission with Kisho was growing stronger, though. Shiori winced as she imagined Kisho finding out the main reason she wanted to go on a mission with him—to make sure he didn't get hurt—and knew he'd have a lot of profane things to say about it. He hated special treatment and hated when people worried even a little about him—which, Shiori thought, was probably why he didn't get annoyed by Kanda's attitude towards him. Shiori was pulled out of her thoughts as Miranda spoke and rubbed her behind the ears. "Lenalee-chan and Allen-kun are the only ones that can hear you, right? Maybe it'd work with my Time Record, but..." she trailed off as she activated her Innocence and watched as the round clock-looking object with gold orbs floating around it appeared on her right wrist. "I wonder if—maybe you could—?" The German woman flustered, not wanting to be bitten, but knew she wanted to understand her new companion a little more.

Shiori bent forward and bit through the time record, then barely had to nip Miranda's skin before a flash of green light burst forth from their Innocence. A moment later Miranda deactivated her Time Record and stared at the wolf, waiting to hear something.

_I wonder if it worked. Guess I'll find out soon._

"W—wahhh!" Miranda screamed, flinging her arms out and lurching backwards in shock. The wolf rolled over, startled, then jumped to all fours and barked in surprise. "Was that you just now?" Her voice quavered as she asked. The wolf's black, bright eyes seemed to be teasing Miranda because of her reaction.

_Yeah! It worked, huh? Sorry to freak you out. It must be weird the first time, but it's the way I've always had to communicate since becoming an exorcist, so I guess it doesn't surprise or startle me anymore._

"Yes..." Miranda agreed, nodding her head slightly as she calmed down and scooted back in front of the wolf. The two turned when they heard Lenalee calling to them.

"Sorry to keep you waiting! Well, are you two ready?" Miranda and Shiori glanced at each other and gave the other a knowing look. Lenalee caught the look and shook her head, sighing.

"Hmm, I see. It's a good thing Allen came with me, isn't it?" The white-haired teenager ran up beside Lenalee and gave his friends a slight smirk.

"You're asking for it," he said before invocating his Innocence at the same time Lenalee activated hers and the two charged for their temporary opponents as they invocated their Innocence and also lunged.

Shiori yawned and stared at herself in the mirror as she finished brushing her teeth. It usually took around ten minutes since Shiori had no hands, but the wolf could clumsily stick the toothbrush between her claws and brush her teeth. She always ended up getting toothpaste and water everywhere but it was easier to clean the floor than brush her teeth. Sometimes if she was tired she just tried to spread toothpaste across her teeth, get water in her mouth, and gargle.

Trudging over to the bed Shiori yawned. Her muscles were aching and would probably be worse in the morning but Shiori knew it was a good kind of exhausted. Kisho was probably feeling similarly about his training sessions, but unlike her, rarely stopped to complain. The wolf rinsed the toothpaste from her mouth and stumbled slightly out of the bathroom, wondering if she'd have a mission tomorrow. The clock on her bedside table read nine O'clock and Shiori realized the training session had run for an hour and a half. No wonder she was feeling this tired—if she did have a mission, hopefully she was going to bed early enough and would be alert for it. Pulling herself up onto the bed and nosing her way under the sheets, Shiori was asleep in a little less than a minute.

As Shiori drifted off, somehow she felt uneasy, like something peculiar, but not bad, was going to happen.

_Before Shiori, there was only blackness, but a faint pink light was filtering through her eyelids. It was slowly getting brighter like she was going closer towards it. The wolf squeezed her eyes shut and thought back to when people always told her and Kisho to not look at the sun, and of course they would, and thus would have blue and red spots in their eyes for minutes afterward. Directly in the lupine exorcist's line of sight, about fifteen feet away, floated a pink mass...Shiori felt her limbs moving and soon found her nose a few feet from what appeared to be a soft pink crystallized heart. A tug of familiarity made her eyes widen and her tail begin to wag slightly—she'd seen this the moment she'd seen Tiedoll with the Innocence that had shortly later accepted Shiori as its Accommodator. The same bars, looking like jeweled rings, were rotating around the Innocence but it wasn't the same as the others. Shiori's tail stopped wagging and the familiarity that she was feeling changed to wonder._

_The Innocence possessed a soft pink glow, instead of neon green, and was heart-shaped instead of cube-shaped. The wolf's dark, clear eyes reflected the soft pink glow and the heart-shaped Innocence as they continued to stare. Suddenly, however, her dark eyes squinted as the soft pink glow became hot and bright, almost a blinding red. The light went from bright red to white-hot and continued to blind Shiori until she couldn't see anything except white._

_"Teach others to seek it not with the desire to win, but with the desire to help others. It's the only way to save him, to save the exorcists, and everyone in the world."_

**Author's Note: Phew. Finally got that chapter out. Yay! I'm happy that I did. I hope you enjoyed it. Hope that wasn't too cheesy. I can try to sound moving sometimes and end up being cheesy. First my cell phone somehow got put to snooze and I woke up at 8:54 when I had a test in my Chinese class today at 9:00. I liked sleeping in, in all honesty, because I seem to have caught "The Cold", and felt somewhat like crap today. Apparently people who travel overseas aren't used to the environment and so get sick. I didn't get sick when I went to Japan, though, and I stayed for two weeks. At the end of my first two weeks in Taiwan I got a cough. Well I won't spread it to you. A classmate of mine is sick too though and I hope I didn't give whatever I have to her. I am getting better though.**

**I got a 75 on my Chinese quiz today (sob). The first test I got an 85. My teacher told me to practice characters more so I did for an hour or so today...and hopefully after a while I'll get better. Going from 85 to 75 isn't good though...so wish me luck. Characters are actually fun but I need to study more. I have study time for an hour each day except today because some of the other American students were teaching English so it was just free time for those who didn't sign up to teach English. I took a nap, studied, and wrote some more. It was nice ****I'm slowly learning more Chinese. ****I've started to recognize words when people talk and hope that continues. When I learned Japanese I was in the U.S. so I didn't have the chance to have some mind-exploding crash course Japanese language learning.**

**I saw Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince here! It was sooo hilarious and fun! It was English with Chinese subtitles and I saw Ron's nickname "Wan Wan" in Chinese. People laughed when Lavender called him that. Yeah it was pretty cool...I was thinking it'd be neat to hear in Chinese but I guess they haven't gotten voice actors to change it into Chinese yet. It's not even out on DVD. A movie ticket is 250 Taiwanese dollars and that's like...$7.60 U.S. dollars. Looking from American dollars most things are 'cheap' here but for Taiwan citizens that might be expensive. I just try to stay away from things 1000 Taiwan dollars and up...especially after the incident where my friends and some Taiwan students went out to dinner and we somehow bought a group meal at a Tai restaurant that was 3000 Taiwan dollars (90 U.S. dollars DX). We all paid 200 each though but I was a little stricken.**

**I've been buying stuff for my family and friends and I bought stuff like toothpaste and a laundry basket the first day but I've probably bought many dollars of stuff. I'm a crazy spender. I guess you buy lots of stuff in a new country though but I hope I don't go or haven't gone **_**too **_**crazy.**

**Well that is all for now. I hope you enjoyed the chapter, and ignore my whining. I've been cranky because I'm sick. But dun worry. I will get better soon. It's lame that I got sick. But it's ok 'cause it's just a cold. Bye for now people! :D**

**Collaborative**


	13. Research

Chapter Eleven - Research

Shiori jolted awake and leapt out of her bed in alarm, taking the sheets with her, since they were tangled around her back legs. The wolf hit the floor running but didn't get far; she crumpled to the ground as the sheets tripped her. Stars burst in front of her eyes as her chin slammed hard into the floorboards. For a moment or two she lay stunned, then began to gather her thoughts once again, trying to figure out what had made her have such a bizarre dream.

_Ohhh. No more milk tea and seafood spaghetti before bed for me,_ Shiori thought wearily as she pressed her front paws into the floor and rose halfway before twisting out of the sheets. She bit her teeth into the cloth and dragged the sheets back to the bed, then tucked them in as best she could, all the while thinking about her strange dream. Usually she immediately dismissed dreams, but this one seemed different somehow...it had been so clear and....it had seemed like she'd been awake during the dream.

_Grr, I'm not making any sense. I've always had __strange__ dreams, so why should this one be important? But...._ she thought edgily, _Maybe I'll ask anyone if there's __something like that__...an Innocence that__ looks like a pink crystal heart__._ Brushing her teeth quickly, which resulted in her getting water and toothpaste foam all over the floor of her bathroom, she began to realize how stupid that would sound. _But would it? And those words...what did they mean? Help him? Who is that supposed to be? There are a lot of 'he's' at The Order....Lavi, Kanda, Komui, Emile, Allen....I even think Timcampy's a he. Which one needs help? Maybe they all do... _The thought slipped into her head and she felt a shiver down her spine. If she was their friend then why couldn't she tell? Maybe not friend....maybe comrade. Shiori hadn't known any of them for very long but she was the kind of person that let people in easily after even a short time. Wandering out into the hall Shiori continued to think about her dream and the voice, so wrapped up in her thoughts that she didn't notice Allen waving at her as he walked down the hall. By the time she realized that someone had walked past her, and realized by the extra strong food smell that it had been Allen (probably coming back from the cafeteria), she stopped and turned but he was already gone. Shiori felt a pang of guilt and made a mental note to explain to him later that she hadn't been ignoring him on purpose.

_I can't believe I didn't notice Allen...wonder if he's mad...this dream is really getting to me.....maybe there's something in the library about it....hang on...damn! _She growled loudly, pinning her ears and scratching her claws across the floor. _What's compelling me read into this?! Why WOULD there be anything about it?! It was just a dream!_

"Shiori, watch it!" Hands clamped over her shoulders and yanked her roughly backward. Glancing up, Shiori's bewildered eyes met the alarmed, puzzled, and almost scolding green eye of Lavi and the dark brown alarmed and worried ones of Kisho. Lavi let go of Shiori and stepped back—the redhead had just barely stopped her from walking onto the stairway, missing a step, and falling the rest of the way down. When Kisho saw that Shiori was out of trouble and staring right at him he frowned at her and crossed his arms. He was about to speak but Lavi beat him to it.

"Were you daydreaming or something? You were about to fall down the stairs. If you want to, be my guest, but I thought you should be informed before you set yourself up for a lot of pain and humiliation—hey, what are you doing?!" Kisho jumped aside and Lavi yelped as Shiori lunged for his pants pocket and bit down on something inside it. Lavi leapt back but the wolf had found what she'd been looking for: the pad of paper that still had her old scribblings on it. She recognized the old writing and guessed Lavi had designated the pad of paper specifically for her use, seeing as he hadn't torn the pages out or written new stuff on the page.

"Jeez, just use your dog sign language next time, will ya?" Lavi grumbled, ignoring the return growl that probably contained some sarcastic remark, and fished a pencil out of his pocket. Kisho threw a grin to Lavi and gave Shiori a teasing look, and while he knew that Shiori acting impulsive was nothing new, he was actually worried about the frantic way she was acting. Kisho was wearing a uniform similar to Lavi's, and had gotten accustomed to wearing it instead of his Chinese outfit. His whole outfit from head to toe was black, except for a few silver-gray parts on his shoulders, back, and the inside of his legs. Kisho had fingerless black gloves on and still had his Kusarigama, a sickle and chain, strapped to his back. It was covered in cloth now to avoid injuring anyone—including himself—but the cloth could easily be pulled off when Kisho needed to fight. During his training Kisho had at first found it hard to fight in his new clothes, which were more stretchy and made of more durable material than the Chinese outfit Bak had given him. It had taken Kisho a little while to get used to his new outfit, since he was used to the Chinese outfit Bak had given him, which was made of a slightly softer material.

The Black Order's uniform let Kisho move around more easily. Even so, when the new exorcist had started wearing it, he'd almost always fallen flat on his face, to the hilarity of Lavi and whoever else happened to be training with him—usually Lavi, Allen, Chaoji, or Lenalee. Kanda had even trained with Kisho once but only because the new exorcist had bothered him while he'd been meditating outside of The Black Order gates. While outside of The Black Order gates, Kisho had been practicing dodging and attacking in the uniform, but had been too focused on practicing that he'd tripped on a tree root and unfortunately had fallen right into Kanda. The swordsman had drawn Mugen in an instant and slashed accurately at Kisho even though he'd been wearing a blindfold. The fourteen-year-old had possibly learned how to adapt to the unfamiliar uniform to avoid getting mauled by Kanda and Mugen. There had been a few close calls that time, causing Kisho to walk away with slashes in his uniform and cuts in his skin.

Lenalee had happened to be taking a walk at that time and had stopped the fight but Kisho took one look at Kanda's aggravated expression and knew he'd better be careful from then on. The topic of Kisho's clumsiness was something that often came up during conversations between the more seasoned exorcists. Whenever Kisho was in the men's baths, the cafeteria, or the hallway he'd hear snips of conversation that were about him messing up in training. He heard that most of the other exorcists thought that he wouldn't be able to survive a mission; some doubted he'd be allowed to go on missions at all and declared he should give his Innocence to Hevlaska and be a Finder. Kisho had a slow start but was getting used to moving in his uniform and was steadily getting better in training, and Shiori just told him to ignore what people said, while Kisho knew that no one had to like him especially not if they'd just met. Although he didn't really hold grudges against people he was still bothered by the way most of the more experienced exorcists talked about him. They were saying he'd fail to adjust to the life of an exorcist, causing his Innocence to reject him, or die during a mission. Kisho wasn't sure which one was worse. If he couldn't be an exorcist, then he couldn't be where Shiori was most of the time, and it had been a long time since he'd last seen her. But if he died, then he couldn't see anyone _or_ be a Finder. All things considered....being a Finder seemed a lot better than being dead. But he'd try to avoid both of those if he could help it...

Shaking his head, Kisho pulled himself back to reality and watched as Shiori snatched the pencil and bit the writing utensil between her teeth and scratched out some words. When she was done she held the pad of paper up to Lavi. He read it with some difficulty, but noted that the wolf's writing had improved slightly, a great achievement since she wrote with a pencil in her mouth.

"'Can you take me to the library?'....sure, but whatcha wanna do? Catch up on some reading? Learn how to make dog food?" The redhead joked as he handed the pad of paper back to her, and Shiori wrote quickly, then handed the notebook back. Kisho and Lavi could detect something was wrong with the wolf from the way her writing had suddenly become (more) erratic; he could almost hear the snappish and urgent tone that a human would have from what she'd written on the page: 'Just take me there!' Pocketing the notebook and pencil Lavi shrugged and sighed. "Fine, I'll take you. Wish I knew what's got your tail in a knot, though," he said, then chuckled slightly as he walked down the corridor with an impatient wolf trotting beside him. Kisho frowned; he'd never seen Shiori acting this upset before and neither had Lavi, even in the short time he'd known her, so he tried not to make any teasing remarks for the moment.

Lavi usually attempted to cheer people up that way (even Kanda), so keeping quiet like this had him a little annoyed and unsure of what to do. The redhead began to wonder if it was a certain time of the month for Shiori.

Shaking his head hard he held out a hand and gestured towards the door he'd halted in front of. "Madam, the library. May I help you find anything?" The joking Lavi was back, but contrary to what he expected, Shiori did not growl at him. Kisho had unexpectedly fallen silent as well as he watched his old friend. Shiori had gone rather still and appeared to be searching the black labels that were on the bookshelves. The square labels had letters on them that ranged from English to every other language in the world and one that looked like Latin. The two male exorcists watched as Shiori took off towards a bookshelf that had a black square plate on the bookshelf's side with a white letter 'I' that was repeated in all of the languages that were on display for international exorcists' convenience. Suddenly bored, Lavi located an empty table and lazily flopped down into a chair, his legs crossed, chin resting in his hand. Kisho took a seat next to Lavi and began fidgeting—crossing and uncrossing his legs, or looking around at all the other people who were in the library.

Kisho liked books, but had only read a few. The young teenager had never been an avid reader in school even though he was good at reading and writing. Reading in class meant he was studying, and Kisho didn't like reading for classes, only for fun—to his teacher's dismay. Despite that, Kisho managed to get passable grades, and Shiori's were even better than his since she read and studied more than Kisho, who would often be off playing somewhere. The fourteen-year-old sighed noisily, earning a scornful look from a few people nearby. Lavi tapped the side of his face with a finger as he read until paws padded across the floor towards them.

The wolf slammed a huge, dusty volume down on the table, causing Lavi and Kisho to scoot their chairs away from the table; several exorcists and Finders who'd been reading quietly looked up in alarm as the bang of the book hitting the table echoed around the room. Shiori opened her jaws from around the book (biting things was the only way she could carry them) and hopped into a chair, her front paws on the cover of the book. Lavi quickly read the title before the wolf flung the book open to the middle: Innocence's Origin. An emerald eye narrowed and then widened in shock for a split second; suddenly the exorcist was interested, for Shiori had opened the book to a pencil drawing of a heart-shaped pink crystal with rings around it. A few lines under the picture said it was an artist's rendition of the Heart of the Innocence. Lavi blinked, then looked up at Shiori and stared. The wolf's mouth had fallen open and her normally calm looking black eyes were wide as she continued to gape at the page. He finally tired of the silence and snapped his fingers loudly in her face. She blinked and shook her head back and forth a few times. "Shady, are you gonna keep being quiet or are you gonna tell me what's wrong? And an explanation about this—" he tapped the picture—"too would be great. Just saying." He pulled the pad of paper and pencil out of his pocket and slid it across the table to her. She stayed still for a moment longer, then swept the pencil up in her jaws and started writing. Lavi scanned the page once Shiori slid it back across the table to him and narrowed his eyes in disbelief, but felt his heart pounding slightly. Looking back up, he raised an eyebrow, then said seriously, "You had a dream about that? You better not be pulling my leg." He pushed the notebook towards her, took the notebook when she was done writing, then squeezed the book between his hand.

"What is it?" Kisho asked curiously, trying to ignore the hot and uneasy feeling welling in his chest. The two leaned closer and Lavi glanced sideways at the teen, then stared back at the book as he explained.

"It's the Heart. The Heart of the Innocence. If it's destroyed...all the other Innocence in existence will be wiped out. It's what the Noah and the Millennium Earl are trying to do— destroy all Innocence. If they destroy the Heart, we'd lose the war and humankind would be doomed." Kisho blinked as Lavi clenched his teeth and glared at Shiori. "You owe me big-time for making me say something that corny." Shiori looked down at the book and didn't seem like she wanted to write anymore. Kisho had a confused expression and hadn't said anything since they'd gone to the library. Lavi sighed and shrugged, holding up his hands in a dismissive manner. "I guess you didn't know. Well, it's not something mentioned lightly nowadays, Ki-kun." Kisho twitched as Lavi used his stupid-sounding nickname. "So you wouldn't have known about it. Did you just eat something funny recently, Shady?" Shiori's stomach suddenly growled, sending a hollow gurgling noise through the library. For the second time on Shiori's account exorcists and Finders looked up, this time annoyed instead of startled. "Hmm...I think we'd better go." Shiori nodded, flipped the book shut and bit it between her jaws, and met Lavi at the door to the library where they both hightailed it out away from the room.

_How could I have dreamed of the Heart? I know I've never read anything on it before. I've never even _heard _of it. Tiedoll never mentioned it to me, that's for sure...I could have been spacing out but he would have made me listen to whatever he'd said one hundred times until I could repeat it perfectly back to him that many times...Kisho told me Cloud Nyne was really strict but not as cranky..._

"You alright, Shady?" Lavi asked, but only received a sigh in response.

"So there's a really powerful Innocence out there? Did all the other Innocence come from it?" Kisho asked, looking up at Lavi with a questioning look.

"Maybe. No one's ever really seen the Heart, or else the Noah and the Millennium Earl would have destroyed it already and we'd know. All the other Innocence will be destroyed once the Heart's destroyed."

Lavi broke off as Lenalee jogged up to them, waving an arm urgently. "What's up, Lenalee?"

"My brother wants to see you both! You two and Miranda have been called to go on a mission today." Lavi grinned sideways and down at Shiori, grinning and winking the only eye that was visible, but Kisho stiffened, his expression sour. He was on the verge of completing his entry-level training but still wasn't able to go on proper missions yet—not until Komui and Hevlaska gave him and his Innocence the OK. Lavi noticed and looped his arm around Kisho's neck, then pulled him close and raised a fist.

"Don't worry about it. You'll get to go on a mission with your Big Brother Lavi soon." He jammed his raised fist into Kisho's hair and twisted it; the teenager struggled indignantly and Lavi released him, grinning. "But we'd better tell Komui about this before we go, Shady." Lenalee looked from Shiori to Lavi a few times, then narrowed her eyes skeptically.

"I guess I'll hear when we get to his office. Let's go: the mission sounded urgent, and Miranda's already there. You can come too, Kisho, if you want." A blur shot past the three; the kid was already way ahead of them and as they started following, Kisho darted into Komui's office.

_She couldn't be the Heart._ Lavi thought as he ran, surreptitiously sneaking a glance at the wolf, _because Lenalee.....I should have asked Shady to tell me her dream in detail. Maybe she just had some sort of premonition. Though I thought that only happened to the brat...Komui will definitely want to know this either way. If Shiori is the Heart, though, then he'll be glad to hear that Lenalee will only have to be kept under his watch, and not the Pope's. I would, too...heh. Panda would skin me alive for that..._

If only there was time to talk to Hevlaska...but the three had already arrived at Komui's office, and Miranda was already being given a mission report.

"Ah, Lavi-san, Kimura-chan, good to see you both!" Komui smiled cheerfully, looking up from addressing Kisho. Miranda turned round and gave Lavi a friendly look but Lavi didn't mirror their welcoming expressions.

"Komui. We need to talk. It's about the Heart."

**Author's Note: I don't own D-Gray Man, its characters (except my OC's), locations, clothes, or names (except my OC's although those are actual Japanese names so I didn't make them up). Also if you were looking these past chapters you might have noticed that I was trying to keep the suggested relationships (such as Lavi/Lenalee) that are in the manga/anime. I don't want to upset anyone or say one couple's better than the other. I do think Lenalee/Lavi is sweet but I'm not sure if romantic feelings between them are reciprocated in the manga or anime.**

**Boo. This chapter might have been kind of sucky, but I think it'll get better after this. Some chapters are slower than others...this one felt slow.**

**In other news, wow, it's typhooning as I speak and the power's still on! I talked to one of my friend's roommates and she asked me what I thought about the typhoon and I said it was exciting and a little scary. Then I asked her and she said she was used to it XD The only time I was in any kind of tropical storm was before I was born.**

**Chinese class was cancelled today because of the typhoon and so was the trip all the classes were taking to an aboriginal village, so most of my friends went shopping and got huge bags of food to prepare for it (we did that the first typhoon there was but it missed Pingtung so we just got a little rain). I only got two boxes of cheese Ritz crackers, two pieces of bread, and I had a few slices of bread and two boxes of granola bars from a package my mom sent me. I haven't been totally hungry so far, but my roommate probably saved me from it by bringing me a boxed meal from a restaurant (I love box lunches here they give you a lot of rice and it's AWESOME, rice is the best!) and a fish sandwich from MacDonald's which means she was driving around with her friend during a Category 2 typhoon named Marakot. She's an awesome, really nice roommate. I think we're both quiet (it's prolly mostly me to be honest tho) so we don't talk a lot, in Chinese or English.**

**There's been a lot of strong wind and rain. Rain is making the floors puddle all over the place; there's a big puddle at the end of the hall in the dorms and it has slowly been leaking to everyone's door. It's like that Japanese horror film Dark Water.**

**LOL. Not really.**

**I hope you liked the chappie and come back to read more soon. I also appreciate feedback so don't be shy or anything. Later everyone! Good morning if you're on the North American continents but goodnight if you're on the European/Asian continent. :D**


	14. Explanations

**Author's Note: Alright, I want to first say sorry for the long author's notes. ^^; I get really chatty sometimes for some reason. Everything I write there is sometimes the only reason the chapter's long xD But it doesn't count so I'll put more story stuff in this time.**

**Second, I'm back in North America. I met a lot of new friends in Taiwan, and had a lot of fun experiences. It was sad to leave, but I'm going to be better about keeping in touch and trying to go back again this time. I went to Japan in 2006 but haven't been back since then. For a week in October I'm going to Japan again. It's a good thing most of my classes are Japanese...so I'm still studying...but seeing the world is a good excuse to miss class, right? :P Haha. OK, without further ado, here's the next chapter. Hope everyone had a good summer!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own D-Gray Man, its characters, their names, any places, or Timcampy. Booyaka!**

Chapter Twelve

Lenalee stiffened and shut the door behind her. The cheerful look had vanished from both Miranda and Komui's faces. Kisho glanced down at Shiori and frowned slightly.

"The Heart?"

"She says she had a dream about it," the young teenager explained, rubbing his head while an uncomfortable frown formed on his face. "That might not..." Komui held a finger up to his face for silence, and Kisho reluctantly closed his mouth. Komui didn't say anything for a few minutes, and the silence stretched out uncomfortably. Finally he linked his fingers together and rested his chin on them, then peered over his desk at Shiori, who still had the book in her mouth.

"Tell me about the dream, Kimura." Miranda and Lenalee were able to hear the wolf's thoughts, but as they prepared for a stream of words, they got a stream of images instead and jumped when the images first started. They were staring at Shiori but turned their attention to Kisho when he yelled in surprise.

"What the heck was that?!"

"You saw it too, Kisho?" Miranda asked softly, still startled by what she'd seen.

"Yeah! What was it? Has it happened before? What did your Innocence do to you after you got it, Shiori?"

"We've been able to hear her thoughts, and since she can't speak in a way we'd understand, it's good. This is the first time we've been able to see images she sees, though. They were from your dream, weren't they Shiori?" Lenalee asked. This whole situation was making him uncomfortable, but he saw that everyone else was tense as well and, like him, wanted to know what was going on.

_Yeah, that was from my dream__._

"Has your Innocence gotten stronger, maybe?" Lenalee asked thoughtfully, then explained everything she'd seen—it was just as her dream had been.

"So, you can communicate images as well as words...and you saw the Heart." Komui paused. "You're sure you didn't hear someone talking about the Heart before this, or maybe even see it somewhere? If you've seen it we need to know where immediately, Kimura. And if you saw anywhere in your dream that might tell us where it could be then I want to hear now. If the Noah Clan, Akuma, or Millennium Earl find it before us, the results will be catastrophic." Komui wasn't sure that Shiori was the Heart or that the Heart was anywhere else—the most likely candidates were Lenalee and Allen, but Allen wasn't the one under the Pope's watch. His sister was. Komui clenched a fist behind his back and watched as the wolf shook her head.

_I haven't seen it anywhere before, or heard about it ever. __In the dream, I wasn't in any place...it was like I was in a dark room and the Heart was there. And__...you could have mentioned __the Heart somewhere and that's why I had a dream..._she trailed off as Komui shook his head slowly after Lenalee explained what she'd said. Komui placed his hands flat on his desk, took a deep breath, then let it out silently.

"Kimura. I realize you mean that your dream might just be coincidence, but no one here would talk about the Heart that casually." This was one of the few times Shiori had seen Komui being genuinely serious. "If you have any more dreams about the Heart, tell me immediately. Whenever anything else like this happens, come and tell me right away." Shiori gulped quietly and nodded. "Good. Now, I have a mission for you three. I've kept you too long with this conversation, so I'll just let you know that Hevlaska hasn't sensed an Innocence, and we haven't received reports of a Noah or the Millennium Earl being sighted. There has, however, been an outbreak of Akuma that we're sending you to take care of—that could mean the Earl is nearby even if we haven't had reports of him being spotted. Keep an eye out for any Innocence or Noah. That's all. Miranda has copies of the detailed mission report."

"Alright...." Lavi said, furrowing his brow. "Well, you can count on us. See you later, Lenalee." Lenalee nodded sadly as her three friends left the room. Shiori paused at the doorway and doubled back to Komui's desk, setting the book on it and opening it to the page that she'd been reading, which had an artist's illustration of what he thought, or knew, the Heart looked like. Then she turned and bounded out of the room after nudging Kisho's hand reassuringly, telling him silently that they'd be alright. Once the three exorcists' footsteps had faded down the hallway Lenalee turned to her brother and gave him a disapproving look and then looked at Kisho, who was nervously inching towards the door. He'd gotten a feeling that he shouldn't be here for the conversation that was about to take place. "Wait, Kisho. I have something to talk to you about, so please wait a moment." Kisho stopped and remained standing near the doorway, but tried not to hear what they were talking about. They began talking, but in Chinese, and he wished they had kept talking in English. Before Kisho had come to the Main Branch, he'd been at the Asia Branch, and he'd learned some Chinese while he'd been there. He was still studying it on his own and so wanted to listen in on Lenalee and Komui's conversation so he could see how much of their conversation he could understand...even though Lenalee and Komui knew Kisho was there, he still felt like he was eavesdropping. If they had spoken in English it would have been easier to ignore since he had studied it for some time already and wasn't as interested in it as he was Chinese.

"What do you think about what she saw?" She began, frowning, but Komui shook his head.

"It is very unusual that she had such a detailed dream without hearing about the Heart before. Not many have seen the Heart but some say it looks like any other Innocence, and some say it might look like this—no doubt because of its name. I've read this book before." Komui motioned towards the large volume that was still open on his desk. "If your Innocence is the Heart, then you still shouldn't go on missions....and I know that upsets you, but it's not just because we'd lose the Heart. Lenalee, if the Heart was lost, we'd lose you, and all of the exorcists."

Lenalee clasped her hands to keep them from shaking and continued. "Innocence is a strange material; it might be more sentient than we know. You think its power made Kisho able to bring Allen, Kanda, and Shiori back that time." Kisho jumped as he heard his name mentioned, and he slowly got the gist of what they were saying. "There is still a lot we don't know about Innocence. Maybe any Innocence, when its accommodator pushes him or herself, or is in danger, will do something like that! Kisho," Lenalee turned to him suddenly, switching to English, and her voice was so sharp that Kisho jumped, "Has your Innocence done anything strange, like protecting you, or healing any injuries you got?" Startled, Kisho shook his head, recalling the first time he'd activated his Innocence and almost gotten killed by an Akuma anyway because he hadn't known how to use it. Cloud Nyne had been the one to destroy all of the Akuma that had destroyed his town, and the Akuma that had almost killed him.

"Allen's stayed in particle form, healed his injury, and returned to him later but....we just _can't _risk it, Lenalee. You know that. If your Innocence is destroyed and it's the Heart, then all the other Innocence in the world will be destroyed and everything we've done and are doing will have been for nothing. For all of the Parasitic Accommodators the shock of losing their Innocence could be too much, not to mention the trauma of their body being destroyed from the inside out. If you don't keep the Heart safe for your sake," Komui ground his teeth and forced himself to finish his sentence, "then keep it safe for your comrades' sake. I'm sorry, Lenalee. If there was anything I could do to change this I'd change it."

"I know, brother...I'm sorry...I just hate that my friends are in danger and I can't help them. I really want to. Whenever Allen and the others go on missions, or train, sometimes I wonder why I'm still an Accommodator. But I know that I'll be ready to fight when I need to. Not if. That's why my Innocence tells me." Komui rose from his chair and stepped around his desk, approached Lenalee and in a swift movement wrapped his arms around her in a tight hug. Kisho suddenly became interested in a drawing of a funny-looking rabbit on the wall, wishing again that he could have waited outside.

"Now, Kisho. I have something to ask you."

"What is it, Supervisor?" Kisho asked cautiously, wondering if that was what the other exorcists called him, or if some called him Komui.

"If it makes things easier, call me Komui. It's fine," Komui added when Kisho seemed uncertain. The head of the Black Order went back around to his desk and sat, peering over his clasped hands at the young exorcist. Lenalee stood beside him quietly, but glanced down and furrowed her brow as she noticed that Kisho's expression was tense, slightly scared, and Lenalee thought he looked like a cornered animal and wondered if he didn't like talking very much. "You mentioned you got a vision that Allen, Shiori, and Kanda were in trouble?" Kisho nodded. "You also brought them back that day without using your Innocence, but an ability you seem to have. Is that true?" He asked gently when he didn't get a response.

"...Well...people said I was always a little...sensitive...but I didn't know if that was true. I might have just paid attention enough, so I could tell if someone was worried about something, or in trouble somehow. And it might not have been entirely true that I didn't use my Innocence to bring Allen, Shiori, and Kanda back. The 'sensitivity' people noticed maybe turned into being able to sense what's happening to people far away, because I've never been able to do anything like that before without it. I don't really understand it." Komui nodded.

"I see; thank you. But I'm still curious about this, to be honest." Komui noticed that Kisho still looked uncomfortable and said quickly, "I'm not going to do tests on you. For now," he added, jokingly, but deep down he did want to be able to find out more about the powers Kisho's Innocence seemed to have somehow amplified. "Just understand that if anything happens, if you have anything you want to talk about, don't be afraid to. Alright? That's what I and everyone else are here for. Reever, Johnny, Hevlaska, and any of your comrades."

"Y-yeah..." Kisho muttered, looking to the side. Lenalee squeezed his shoulder, feeling worried about him. It was the same way with all of her friends; she wanted to help them and make sure they were alright. If anything happened to any of them...Lenalee didn't know what she'd do. Even if she didn't like thinking about losing her friends, the thought kept going around and around in her head. Lenalee realized she felt protective of this kid too, even though she hadn't known him for that long. Maybe because he was a lot younger than her, like a little brother. But she believed all of her friends were family. "Will I be able to go on missions soon, Super...Komui?" Kisho started to say 'Supervisor', then corrected himself midsentence and grinned slightly as Komui and Lenalee tried not to laugh.

"Super Komui? That's a new one, but I like it," Komui said distantly, placing a hand on his chin and thinking about how he'd like being called 'Super Komui', but sighed when he realized no one would agree to call him that. "You'd like to go on missions with Shiori, correct?" Kisho looked a little embarrassed, but nodded once.

"Well, yeah, but not just her...you, Lenalee, Lavi, Allen, Chaoji, Miranda...you're all...interesting to be around." Kisho turned his head and looked at Lenalee. "I mean...a good interesting." Lenalee smiled and Kisho had to look at his feet; he wasn't used to talking so much to people about things like this.

"Well," Komui said, "partners are assigned according to their individual talents. For example, Shiori, Kanda, and Lavi were paired together on one mission because the Akuma they were fighting had ice powers and was very quick. Lavi could handle the ice using his hammer to summon fire, Kanda is extremely quick, and Shiori can slow most Akuma down with her howl. We don't assign teams based completely on bonds exorcists have with each other; that could create problems—if an exorcist is focused on aiding his or her friend more than fighting Akuma or regaining an Innocence it would put the mission and all the exorcists in jeopardy." Kisho's eyes widened and he was about to speak but Komui quickly cut him off. "Understand I didn't mean you'd never get to go on missions with her, but I won't pair both of you just because you want to have a mission together. There are all sorts of different missions for exorcists, and you'll probably be paired with her someday soon, especially since you're close to finishing your training. You've gotten better at fighting lately, I hear. You've even practiced with Lenalee, haven't you?" The young teenager nodded and Komui gave a faint smile, silently thankful that other exorcists still spoke with and trained with Lenalee even if she didn't go on missions; he was glad that she didn't have to be alone all the time.

"Yeah, we've practiced fighting together. You must have seen us or something...right?" Komui gave a slightly sinister smirk.

"I see all," he said in an ominous voice. Kisho jumped, startled, at the unsettling look in Komui's eyes but Lenalee just put a hand to her head and sighed. "I'm just joking. No one appreciates a good joke nowadays," Komui sighed sadly, then looked cheerful again. "Lenalee told me that you, Allen, Miranda, and Lavi have practiced together. Is your Innocence's form working out? Hevlaska and I both wanted to know about that." Kisho's eyes lit up and his expression changed to one of eagerness.

"Yep, I've used a sickle before and I mostly had to get used to the chain. So...you think Hevlaska will let me go on missions soon?" Komui stood once again from his desk and walked around it towards Lenalee and Kisho.

"Why don't we go find out? I already asked Hevlaska about testing you again so I think she will agree to check your Innocence."

"Hear that?" Lenalee asked cheerfully to Kisho as she saw he was eager to visit the Innocence Keeper.

"Yeah! Let's go!"

**Author's Note: This chapter might have just been me explaining stuff, so it might not have been very interesting, and maybe it didn't make sense either but if you're still here thanks for reading through it! ^^ I'll stop now before I go on a Ramble Rampage. Bye for now, and Happy Labor Day Weekend!**


	15. Collapse

**Disclaimer: I don't own D-Gray Man or its characters, names, Innocence, or places. I just wanted to write about it :D Hope it's still good! Thanks for reading everyone :)**

Chapter Thirteen

Allen slid trays of food onto one of the cafeteria tables and sat down and started to eat his meal eagerly. For lunch he'd ordered twenty dumplings, five Japanese pancakes, steamed buns with red bean paste inside, rice crepes, and ten shrimp rolls. He'd also ordered some cold milk tea since it was baking hot outside and it was also a favorite drink of his now. As he was finishing his second shrimp roll and pancake Kisho sat down next to him with a tray with seafood congee and two steamed buns with walnuts inside. "Nice day," Allen said happily with his mouth full. Kisho made a disgusted face but laughed as crumbs sprayed from Allen's mouth. Quickly moving his tray out of the crumbs' line of fire the young teenager sat down.

"Hey. How's it going?" Kisho asked as he started to eat.

"Not...too bad. And you?"

"Great! I just saw Hevlaska. Lenalee and Komui went with me." Allen swallowed and his eyes widened in interest.

"Really. What'd she say?" Allen asked, then shoved half a pancake into his mouth.

"I can go on missions now. She said my Innocence synchronization was high enough." Allen grinned.

"How do you feel?"

Kisho was about to answer that he was when he suddenly recalled something Allen had just said and absently repeated it. "Not...too bad?" The white-haired exorcist stopped eating and raised an eyebrow.

"What do you mean? You looked excited a minute ago."

"Huh? Oh, you said you weren't too bad now but you stopped when you said it, like you were going to say 'not that good'. Are you getting sick or something?" Allen looked down at his plate, then back up at Kisho quickly and shook his head.

"It's nothing to worry about now. Anyway, I've been meaning to ask you something."

Kisho raised an eyebrow. _Nothing to worry about _now_?_

"You've had some experience with Akuma, haven't you? And you were trained a little at the Asia Branch, I heard." Kisho stopped eating the seafood congee, suddenly silent, and he didn't look at Allen as he answered.

"Well....if you meant do I know how they're created, I do. And I've encountered some, before Cloud Nyne found me. I haven't really fought any, though. When Cloud Nyne found me, gave me my Innocence and the Akuma attacked us, I didn't know how to use it. Anyway, a few of the exorcists at the Asia Branch helped me train, and Bak and three people from the Science Branch—Likei, Lo Hua, and Shifu—told me more about the Black Order Branches, Innocence, and Akuma. I also met...what was her name....Fo. She fought me once." Allen grimaced.

"How'd that turn out?" As if he needed to ask.

"Not that well. She beat me up. Like I said, I didn't know how to activate my Innocence—"

"—Wiped the floor with you," Allen finished for Kisho, chuckling. "And probably everywhere else she could toss you." The young kid gave Allen an irritated look.

"What's so funny?" Kisho demanded, and Allen waved a hand.

"I'm not laughing at you." _Well, no, I am__._ "I was just thinking about when I went there and fought Fo. When she starts fighting, you better be prepared to fight or get ready to be massacred. She would have killed me if she hadn't gotten tired at the last minute. She has to have enough energy to keep a physical form, but couldn't since we'd been fighting for hours, so her attack went right through me. I'm glad, too, or else I'd be missing my head." Kisho's eyes widened and he felt prickles of shock over his body. Fo could have killed him, too. They hadn't been fighting for very long when the Guardian Deity had suddenly called an end to the battle.

_The Guardian Deity rushed behind Kisho, kicked out a leg and slammed her foot into the back of his head. Then she darted in front of him and kicked him again, this time sending him flying into a wall, where he struggled to stay standing but didn't have much success and collapsed a few seconds after the impact. Fo shook her head and walked slowly up to him, transforming her arms into axes, and held one to Kisho's throat just as he looked up and realized that although his life had been saved thanks to the general Cloud Nyne, he could be killed here just as easily. His weapon was too far away to retrieve and even if he could, he didn't know how to use it yet. He wasn't that much of an asset to the Asia Branch or the Main Branch, and if Fo killed him, his Innocence would still be completely intact since it was Equip. It would be no big loss for them if he died now._

_But....Kisho suddenly reached up and closed his hand around the edge of the axe, and he clenched his teeth as he began using all of his strength to try and push the weapon away, even though he was in danger of cutting his hand in half. "I can't die until I see Shiori again!" The discarded weapon that lay ten or so feet away from Kisho and Fo suddenly flashed bright green. Fo smirked and stepped back, with a hint of hesitation, but her arms changed back to normal._

"_You'll die one day, kid, but not now. Train hard or the Akuma will kill you before I can." Fo offered her hand and after hesitating for a second Kisho lifted his left hand and took it. Fo helped Kisho hobble over to where his Innocence weapon lay, and he bent to pick it up with his left hand, since his right hand was currently useless. Once he'd retrieved it he staggered to the Infirmary with Fo supporting him, half-conscious, a huge bump on his head and a bleeding right hand. "At least you've learned not to back down. That's a start. Always remember that as long as you can still fight, you can still make it."_

"You said you'd come in contact with Akuma before Cloud Nyne found you, though. Was it because...people wanted someone to come back?" Kisho looked up from looking at the almost-healed scar on his right palm, and tried not to show any expression. Had he really let that piece of information slip? Still, as unpleasant as the thought was, others had been killed by Akuma and even turned into them. He hadn't known why Akuma really existed until he'd gone to the Asia Branch, and then understood the sickening truth of what people turned into Akuma went through. Allen scratched his head.

"Yeah. I didn't understand at first but some people in my town must have met the Earl," Kisho said dully, and sighed.

"Wait...you said you didn't know how to activate your Innocence when you fought them the first time. It is harder for Equip types. What happened before you went to the Asia Branch?" Kisho rolled his chopsticks between his fingers, a sign he was nervous, since he fidgeted whenever he was anxious about something.

"Cloud Nyne took me to the Asia Branch. An Akuma attacked my town and she destroyed it when it got me and was about to kill me. Just before that she gave me an Innocence and then told me to stay close to her. She said I could use the Innocence, but not then. We got separated for a while though and an Akuma caught me. When that happened the Innocence went into the old sickle I had but when I tried to use it, it broke right away. Cloud told me weapons had to be specially designed for Innocence—normal items won't be able to contain their power. I owe her though, not just because she took me in, but because I would have been dead if she hadn't found me in time. She trained me for a long time...maybe half a year or a year...I can't remember, but it was around that long. We got to know each other pretty well."

"I see," was all Allen said in reply. Kisho suddenly noticed that the three plates on both of Allen's trays were empty.

"What the...hey...you finished all that in the one minute we were talking?" Allen blinked, puzzled.

"Yeah," he replied like it wasn't a big deal. "I just have a question, though." Kisho nodded, but his expression was guarded.

"What is it?"

"How old are you? Because, in all honesty, you look like you're ten." Allen said, noting again that the kid wasn't very tall. Kanda still called Allen a bean sprout though even though he was a lot taller than when he'd been fifteen. Kisho gave an annoyed smirk.

"Alright, I'm short. But I've noticed that you, Kanda, and Lavi are really tall. Next to you guys I would be short. And I'm fourteen, not ten," Kisho finished irritably and Allen held up his hands in a calming gesture.

"Alright, don't get your knickers in a twist. I was just wondering. I was fifteen when I came here. That was two years ago."

"Huh," was all Kisho said before he returned to his lunch.

"So, what month were you born in?" Allen asked, and Kisho tried not to feel edgy. What was with all the questions suddenly?

"The twelfth of November," Kisho said after a pause.

"You didn't sound very sure," Allen said, noting the hesitation in the fourteen-year-old's voice.

"Well," Kisho stopped eating, turned, and looked at Allen, "Shiori picked that birth date. I remember her asking me if I knew what my birth date was when I was little and I said I didn't. After that she told me it was the twelfth of November." Kisho shrugged.

Allen, feeling a little tired, began to yawn, then heard what Kisho had said, and the yawn changed to a surprised laugh halfway. "So you forgot your birthday?"

"What....I don't know," Kisho replied back, a little tersely, feeling his face get warm. What he said had sounded kind of stupid...what person had to have someone else tell them their birthday, unless they had amnesia?

"Did your parents adopt you when you were a kid, maybe?" Kisho shook his head.

"No...I've lived with them for as long as I can remember."

"Really..."

"Yes. Anyway, since we're on the subject, what month were you born in?"

"December the twenty-fifth," Allen replied automatically, but feeling a pang as he said the date. He thought again of Mana, but the feelings he had now weren't all fond ones like they used to be.

"Christmas Day? So do you get a lot of presents?" Allen laughed. "That reminds me, Shiori's birthday is coming up in a few months. It's August twenty-second—she'll be seventeen then."

"Are you going to throw a party?" Allen asked as the two took their trays to clean them off and give them back to Jerry so he could clean the dishes.

"It might be a good idea to, actually...I think she'd like it. I think it would be fun for everyone else too, granting they like parties." Allen nodded and smiled.

"Jerry and everyone else would probably help you plan it. Johnny, Reever, and Komui would want to, probably."

"That'd be great. I wasn't really planning a party...I have a present for her from our mom. When I was leaving the town with Cloud Nyne I went back to go get it. That's...actually why she had to save me. I went back and there must have been an Akuma hiding and it attacked me. That's why she had to carry me to the Asia Branch." Kisho rubbed his head and Allen looked mildly amused, thinking of the times he'd done something like that and gotten in a lot of trouble for it. "I really had to go back and get it, though. It's a kimono our mom made for Shiori. She was going to give it to her when she turned twenty. When a person turns twenty they've become an adult, and that day is the Coming of Age Day, but I'm going to give it to her this year. I think she'd understand."

"Yeah, and if not, she'll just bite you." Kisho handed his tray with the dishes on it to Jerry and waved, then turned, and he walked out of the cafeteria with Allen.

"I hope not. She can bite hard even as a human and it hurts...I bet it's worse when she's a wolf," he added with a slight grimace.

"Why was she biting you?" Allen asked quizzically, finding the statement a little odd.

"We care about each other and usually get along but we're still siblings so sometimes we'd fight. Maybe that's why Shiori's Innocence turned her into a wolf—because she would be used to it," Kisho said, and couldn't help laughing.

"That makes her sound...scary," Allen commented, looking a nervous as the two headed down the hall towards the stairwell that led to the exorcists' rooms. "Where to now? You might not have a mission for a while, but we could train together sometime, if you were up for it."

"Heh. Would I be up for it? You're the one who said he was getting over being sick. I think I'm going to my room to read a book I got in the library, but when you're better, we could train. I mean, I don't look forward to getting beaten up by Akuma or Fo again." Allen looked over and Kisho held the book up, and the older exorcist's blue-gray eyes widened. "What?" Kisho asked, perplexed at the stunned expression on Allen's face.

"You just took it?" He asked and then shook his head in disappointment.

"I'm going to take it back when I'm done! It's not like there's anyone to ask if I can check it out, anyway," Kisho said quickly. Allen sighed.

"Sure....I should take you to Komui right now and turn you in, thief." Kisho punched Allen's shoulder.

"Shrimp," Allen snickered, and Kisho rolled his eyes.

"Shut up...."

"So what's it called? Is that Japanese? Or Chinese?" He asked, curious, and Kisho pointed to the two words on the cover.

"This is Japanese, and the one on the left is Chinese. I can read them both." Allen looked surprised.

"You can read Chinese?" He asked, wondering where and when he'd learned it.

"I can read some. The Japanese title is Fumei and the Chinese title is Buming—they both mean 'Unknown'. It's a ghost story or something, far as I can tell. It was either in Japanese and translated to Chinese, or the author wanted to use a Japanese title too. Anyway, when I was at the Asia Branch Bak, Lo Fa, Likei, and Shifu taught me Chinese." When Shiori had taken Lavi and him to the library he'd browsed the shelves and found the book he had now. Bak and three apprentices of the Science Department at the Asia Branch (Lou Fa, Likei, and Shifu), had started teaching him Chinese, as well as how to read and write in Chinese while he'd been there. Bak and Lo Hua had taught Kisho patiently but strictly, not letting him take breaks that were too long or goof off.

When Kisho got tired of studying he tried to use words he was learning in Chinese to change the subject. He tried sometimes to talk about any random thing that came to his mind in the vain hope that he'd talk to the end of the lesson but his Bak and Lo Hua never fell for it. Bak usually gave him more work to do while Lou Hua just gave him a look before going back to speaking or character practice. Likei and Kisho sometimes ended up arguing when they studied together and a few times even got into fist fights, but in spite of that, they actually got along pretty well (fighting might have been a way for them to relate). Shifu on the other hand was serious but as he and Kisho got to know each other better both of them loosened up and began to goof off after a while (usually after fifteen or twenty minutes they got tired of studying). If Fo or Bak caught them messing around they'd both suddenly find themselves running for their lives and hiding in the Asia Branch's many rooms. Kisho wanted to go there again sometime and see everyone again, even Fo, who would probably want to fight with him again since he hadn't done too well last time.

"Shiori took Lavi and me to the library this morning because Shiori....Oh, you probably didn't hear about her..." Kisho halted when Allen stopped and gave him a questioning look.

"What? What happened to her?" Kisho shook his head, seeing that he'd sounded like something was wrong with her.

"Nothing happened to her—she just had a weird dream last night. Lavi and I ran into her this morning and she was really deep into thought about something. She almost fell down the stairs because she wasn't watching where she was going."

"I saw her this morning too. She kept walking past me; I said hi but she didn't stop; I guessed she just didn't want to talk, so I didn't call her again," Allen said, remembering he'd felt a little hurt when he thought Shiori had just ignored him for some reason, but it seemed she hadn't been trying to do that.

"I don't think she was ignoring you on purpose. She was distracted because she had a dream about the Heart. From the way I saw it, it was really vivid." Allen narrowed his eyes.

"You had a dream about it too?" He asked skeptically, and Kisho thought he looked a little sweaty, as if he was really nervous about something.

"I didn't, but Shiori thought about what she saw in the dream again and Lenalee, Miranda, and me saw it as if we'd had the dream. She can transmit images to others' minds, or something."

"Lenalee's, Miranda's, Kanda's, my and your Innocences are synchronized with hers. But she never bit you, did she?" Kisho gave Allen a confused look.

"Bit me? No. Did she bite the rest of you?" Allen nodded.

"Yeah."

"Why?" Kisho asked, puzzled. Allen sighed and began explaining.

"If she bites an exorcist while both of their Innocences are activated, then a link forms between their Innocences and they can hear her thoughts. I was the first person bit."

"You were her test-subjects, huh...she never told me. I would have stopped her, since she might have rabies. Kidding," he added with a smirk. "Wonder why she didn't have to bite me." Allen shook his head and the two continued walking towards the staircase. Allen started to slow down but Kisho was deep in thought so he kept walking for a minute before he realized that Allen had stopped. Turning, he saw the older exorcist with one hand against the wall for support while the other hand, his left one, was clutching his head. Running back Kisho stopped beside Allen and felt a jolt of alarm when he saw that the older teenager's face was ashen gray. "Allen!" Kisho began to panic as he tried to think of what to do. How could anyone's face be a normal skin tone one minute, then that gray the next? Was he getting sicker? That was the only thing he could think of that made sense, but he didn't know what to do about it, except to go and get help. As he rose to run off and find someone, preferably Matron, to help, Allen's left hand fell from his head and grabbed Kisho's left forearm tightly. Alarmed, the young teenager looked back at Allen and noted his expression: at first glance, angry, but there was a hint of something else, like urgency, or dread.

"Don't....do that....don't even think about it..."

**Author's Note: I was being serious and a little crazy in this chapter...it was fun and so probably seemed random. It's been a month or so since Kisho went to The Black Order so he's feeling more comfortable and as you can see Kisho, Allen, and the others have gotten to the point where they feel a little more comfortable with bugging each other. Lol. Anyway hope you enjoyed it! :) Let me know by reviewing...or favoriting...whatever you feel like doing at the moment. Bye **f**or now! ^-~**

**9/28/09 Edit: Fixed some mistakes I just noticed and added some more stuff. I didn't check this chapter over like the others, because I really wanted to put it up and so that desire pushed the 'Wait a minute check for errors!' voice out of my head. It doesn't bother me to edit stuff. That's why, if anyone wants an editor/beta-person thingy for their stories, I wouldn't mind doing that. If anything, I'd like editing, because I have gotten interested *coughpickycough* in spelling, grammar, and sentence structure over the course of my English classes. Maybe I should be an editor sometime. But to be honest now I am taking mostly Japanese and have learned some Chinese so my English might actually have gotten worse (while my Japanese and Chinese can get better especially in writing XD), but that's okay! Language is fun, especially when you learn songs and how to say funny stuff! :D**


	16. Uncertainty

**Oooh...hello again! I really wanted to uploaded another chapter :) I hope you enjoy it!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Man, its characters, places, themes, names, place themes, or even the story's time stream, just meaning that I'm pretty random so anything probably could happen...but that's good, right? ^.^**

Chapter Fourteen

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"There are just a few left. Let's get 'em!" Lavi shouted as he dispatched another Akuma with his Anti-Akuma weapon. He turned quickly and saw an Akuma that had been taking advantage of his turned back but he destroyed it before it could attack him. Miranda nimbly dodged out of the way of an Akuma that had swiped its large hand at her and Shiori rammed into it, sending it to the ground, then jumped away when it swiped for her. She'd been too slow, however, and yelped as the Akuma's hand grabbed her by a back leg and tossed her through the air.

_Miranda, take cover! _She thought quickly, and saw the German exorcist move to a safe distance. Shiori took a breath and howled, and the Level One Akuma burst apart in a loud explosion. The wolf swung her head around, trying to spot more Akuma, but there were no more in sight. Altogether the three exorcists had dispatched about a hundred or so Akuma, some Level Ones and others Level Two. There might have even been a Level Three but Shiori, Lavi, and Miranda hadn't stopped to think about it. It had come at them and they had gotten injuries from it but didn't stop attacking and after a while, with all of them fighting it together, it had finally gone down. There had just been some Level Ones to clean up after that and the drive to fight was slowly leaving the exorcists as they checked the area and didn't find any more Akuma.

Miranda and Shiori headed over to Lavi to check on him; he'd been attacked by the Level Three and it had been difficult to keep Miranda next to Lavi so she could keep his injuries away while he and Shiori fought. The thing that made Level Three Akuma harder to fight than Twos or Ones was that they were smarter and could be strategic—the Level Three had seen that Miranda could heal injuries but only if she could concentrate so she had been a frequent target for attack. Shiori had found her howl's freezing effect to be less effective on a Level Three but it had still worked to some degree; for a few seconds after she howled the Akuma would freeze and Lavi would attack it with any spell he could. The Akuma had gotten greatly damaged during the fight and once Miranda had cast Time Record on it, but quickly deactivated immediately after its injuries had all been taken away.

Lavi and Shiori had worked hard to keep its attention away from Miranda while she'd been doing that, and had watched in grim relief as the large, multiple burns from Lavi's Innocence, gashes, bites, and a huge rip across its chest from Shiori's teeth and claws—suddenly reappeared. All the shock of having those injuries at once, rather than getting them gradually, had done what Miranda hoped—cause the Akuma to collapse with the sudden pain of getting them back. That had given Lavi and Shiori enough time to finally land the finishing blow but the effort involved fighting it had almost been their downfall—if Miranda hadn't risked using Time Record on it, they might have weakened before it had, which would have let the Akuma attack and kill them.

"Lavi, are you alright? Your forehead is bleeding." Lavi had a large cut in the middle of his forehead from the Level Three Akuma and several other cuts from the rest of the Akuma army. His middle was bruised and he winced as he felt it; a punch from a Level Two to his stomach might have broken a rib. Once Miranda stepped closer and activated her Time Record he felt the injuries vanishing for the moment. Miranda and Shiori's injuries also cleared up as the Time Record activated—Shiori's voice was a little raspy from overuse and she had claw marks across her shoulder and back, while Miranda had three scratches on the left side of her face where an Akuma had narrowly missed her. A sharp ache in her left shoulder vanished with Time Record's help but she knew it was either dislocated or had a slight fracture. "I'm fine. We can all get taken care of later. Let's get back to the train for now...I'm beat." Miranda and Shiori nodded and began to trundle back towards the town's train station.

When the exorcists had first arrived at the station they'd found that most of the people had evacuated when the Akuma had arrived; the remaining townspeople either were the Akuma or had gotten killed by them when they attacked. That was a problem, since the people killed—including the ones turned into Akuma—were probably friends or family of the evacuated townspeople. As Lavi, Miranda, and Shiori neared the train station they saw that a large crowd of people were still waiting there. Lavi recalled something Allen had said after a mission once: _"If someone called the Millennium Earl talks to you, please don't listen to him. Just walk away and be sure to call us right away."_ The redhead almost smiled as he remembered; Allen had drawn a picture of the Millennium Earl so people would know what the person they needed to avoid looked like. The sketch had done the job but Lavi had burst out laughing at Allen's child-like drawing abilities (and Allen, not having been in the mood to be laughed at, had punched him).

_Hey, Lavi, can you tell what this is? _Lavi could hear Shiori think now. During the fight, Shiori had been attacking an Akuma that Lavi had been swinging his weapon at, but at the last minute the Level Two Akuma had dodged out of the way. Shiori had accidentally bitten on the Innocence hammer, but only for a second, as the swing sent her flying immediately after she'd bitten it. Lavi had been freaked out for a while, but now was still laughing slightly about being the person to invent wolf baseball. After the fighting was over Shiori had stumbled around whimpering and looking pitiful until she'd wandered close to Miranda who had her Time Record activated. The impact had hurt so much Shiori wondered if her teeth were going to fall out, but it seemed that her Innocence had made them stronger and they hadn't even cracked, but she bet that her mouth would hurt like crazy for a few days.

Lavi took the item that was in the wolf's mouth—a slightly wet and wrinkled piece of paper. One green eye blinked at the drawing on the paper and he gulped and grinned nervously, then tried his best to answer, since it was impossible to tell what the sketch was supposed to be of.

"A crazy rabbit with a rock on his head?" Shiori sighed.

_You should draw him so we can tell the people to stay away from him. _Lavi suddenly got what it was supposed to be, and couldn't hide a snort of laughter.

"Oh, was it supposed to be the Earl? You should practice more, Shady. But don't worry, I'll draw him." He ripped a new piece of paper from his small notebook and quickly but accurately drew a picture of the Millennium Earl, and gave it to the mayor of the town, while explaining who the person was and that he was the reason the Akuma showed up. After making sure the mayor understood he walked back to Shiori and Miranda and stopped suddenly. Shiori was staring at him with her jaw open. "Hey, Shady, let me tell you something. It's funny when people do that, but scary when you do it." Shiori closed her mouth.

_You're really good at drawing._

"You think?" _I had to be—it's not because I like it. _He thought, but forgot Shiori could hear him, and he noticed that she flinched slightly and lowered her ears, having caught his harsh tone and dark expression. "Forget it. We're all tired, and the train's here, so let's get on." Lavi saw Miranda and Shiori nod and they walked onto the train platform together and stepped into the first compartment when the doors opened. Lavi sighed heavily and took a seat immediately upon entering the train, leaned against the window and yawned. "Can't wait 'till we get back..." Lavi lifted his head and looked towards Miranda. "Hey, if you need to stop using Time Record, then go ahead. I think it had stopped bleeding, anyway," he told her, touching his forehead, and Shiori nodded to let Miranda know she'd be fine too, but the German exorcist just smiled and shook her head.

"I'm fine now, but I'll let you know if I'm going to deactivate it." She looked at Shiori who had taken a seat next to her and curled up in a ball, but was staring at her Golem, and Miranda heard what she was thinking to it as the wolf told Komui that they'd finished the mission and were coming back. "You two can take a rest if you like. I'll be fine." Shiori rested her head on her paws and Shiori's Golem, who she'd named Kamu, flew up to her head and nestled between her ears, then shuffled over and began chewing on her left one. She growled and flicked her ear a few times, but each time the black Golem would just fly back and keep chewing.

_He's worse than fleas._ Miranda slid away from Shiori slightly.

"Um, fleas....?" She murmured nervously, and Lavi's tired expression became slightly disgusted. Shiori lifted her head quickly but Kamu didn't move; he just kept chewing on her ear.

_I don't have them anymore! I'd know if I still had them. I promise they're gone._

"You got rid of them?" Miranda asked, still skeptical, and toyed with the idea of going to sit next to Lavi.

_Yes, before I even came to The Black Order. Fleas are nothing compared to ticks, though,_ Shiori thought but immediately wished she hadn't mentioned that when Miranda jumped up and crossed the small room and sat next to Lavi. _I don't have ticks! I never did! I just meant that I'd hate them worse than fleas._

"Do you know you don't have them?" Miranda asked uneasily.

_If I had ticks, _you'd _know, because you'd be hearing some of the most profane words known to man. _Miranda nodded uncomfortably, but didn't move back to where Shiori was sitting. Lavi laughed, liking the new seating arrangements, and Shiori twitched her ears and growled, then rested her head on her paws again.

_I'm not very good at explaining things...Kamu, stop biting me!_

"Let me hold him," Miranda offered, "or else he'll eat your ear." She stood and walked towards Shiori, gingerly reaching out to pick up the black Golem from between Shiori's ears; to her relief he didn't start biting her.

"Think he's hungry?" Lavi asked, an amused smile on his face.

_I don't know...maybe. But do Golems eat things?_ Shiori thought, but Lavi shook his head, and Miranda was currently preoccupied with trying not to get bitten so she didn't answer.

"Ask Allen. He and Timcampy fight over food a lot. Sometimes I've seen him in the kitchen late and he tells me that he's getting a snack for him and Timcampy. Maybe some eat food, but maybe other eat animals, like wolves. Maybe we'll walk in your room one day and there'll just be bones and fur on your bed." Lavi shuddered, and Miranda looked a little dismayed. "Better watch out, Shady."

Kamu flew over to Lavi and dove for his hands, but missed as the redhead lifted his hand before the Golem could bite it. _You watch out too, Lavi,_ Shiori thought, covering her mouth with a paw, like she was hiding a laugh.

________________________________________________________

Allen looked up in alarm. Even though his ears were ringing so sharply that his head was pounding painfully, he still felt dread at the thought of Kisho seeing him...because once the kid saw his face he'd make the connection between him and The Black Order's enemy. But suddenly a thought occurred to him.

"Haven't you...seen any Noah before?" If Kisho had and figured out what was going on, there was nothing Allen could do, but if he didn't, then...

"Allen!" Kisho gripped Allen's shoulders and felt that the older exorcist was shaking so badly he no longer had to guess at why he'd collapsed. "Talk to me. What can I do? What's wrong?"

"Nothing..."

"This isn't nothing!"

"I mean....you can't do anything. So...just...leave." Allen closed his eyes, then fell forward onto Kisho, who gave a startled exclamation and lifted his hands automatically to catch him. He fell backwards with the weight of Allen, though, and grunted as he fell flat on his back and got the wind knocked out of him.

"Ouch...you're really...heavy." Once he got his breath back he shook Allen roughly, hoping to get a response, but nothing happened. Allen's breaths were coming shallow and quick.

_What the...is he...dying...?_

"ALLEN!" The older exorcist wasn't responding. "Allen!" Kisho swore when he still didn't get a response. "Hang in there. I'll get you to Matron!" Kisho shouted, taking hold of Allen's shoulders so he could stand him up and pull him along, but he stopped abruptly when Allen's right hand came up and grabbed Kisho's arm, the one that was currently gripping Allen's left shoulder. Kisho jumped and his heart beat heavily; he thought Allen had been unconscious.

"Just...take me to my room....this will....go away...and there isn't...anything that Matron could do to...make it better...."

"You must be kidding," Kisho muttered, but was relieved that Allen was talking to him, "come on, let's go see her now. This isn't a normal sickness. Your skin was normal just a second ago and now it's like you, I don't know, fell into a pile of ashes." Allen would have rolled his eyes but felt too bad to make the effort. "What the heck happened to you that got you sick like this?" Frantically, Kisho reached out and pressed his palm over Allen's forehead and felt cold beads of sweat. Kisho let his hand drop and moved again to pull Allen upright, but when he did, both of Allen's hands came up to stop him. Kisho gave a startled gasp that was cut off when the older exorcist grabbed him by the collar of his shirt.

"Listen to me....just help me get to my room and then leave. I don't want anyone else to see me like this."

"Umm....okay....unless you're afraid of doctors there's no reason for you to not want people to see you." Allen's eyes widened and he stared right into Kisho's dark brown eyes. The kid's naiveté was almost annoying...but Allen was partly relieved, because it still meant he had a chance around here...if anyone else had found him, even one of his friends, he wouldn't have.

"You must not have met one....and I wasn't afraid of doctors until Komui operated on me..." Allen almost laughed when he thought of the incident on his first day at The Order. "Kisho, just listen to me and don't take me to the Infirmary....I can't explain right now...until I can, just don't tell anyone...." Allen said, then held his head and fell forward onto Kisho, who reached his arms out and caught Allen, but fell backwards with the weight of his friend.

"Ow! Shoot," Kisho groaned, once again lying flat on his back. "You're...ugh...heavy..." Struggling to sit up, Kisho put a hand on Allen's back and pushed him away enough so he could stand, then grabbed his left arm and slung it over his shoulders. He slowly began to drag him towards the stairs and was startled when a voice yelled his name. His heart thudded hard as he looked at Allen, but he realized his friend's skin tone wasn't gray anymore...now he just had to explain why Allen had passed out.

"Morioka!"

"Oh...urg...hey Chaoji," Kisho grunted in greeting to the exorcist as he strained to keep Allen standing up. "Mind giving me a hand?"

"No, but what happened to him? I heard a yell and came to see what was up." Kisho prepared to hand one of Allen's arms to Chaoji so they could both carry him, but the man just grabbed Allen, lifted him with one hand, and slung his whole body over his shoulders. Kisho stared, dumbfounded, then noticed the two silver links around Chaoji's right wrist were glowing green. "I'll take him to the Infirmary. Come with me so you can tell Matron what..."

"No!" Kisho abruptly shouted, causing Chaoji to stop suddenly, eyes wide with surprise. "Allen told me he just had a really bad headache and that he just wanted to sleep. He seemed really sure about it so I guess he just gets headaches like this sometimes." Chaoji stared doubtfully at Kisho for a few seconds, but soon nodded and headed up the stairs.

"If you say so. But if he gets worse go get Matron, alright?" Kisho hesitated, then nodded once.

"Okay. And, um...Chaoji....?" The man looked across at Kisho once he reached the landing and began ascending the second flight of stairs.

"What is it?" Chaoji asked.

"Is that your Innocence? Those links?" Chaoji nodded briefly and glanced briefly at the silver links around his wrist.

"Yes. They let me lift things that are even too heavy for even a lot of people. It took a while to get used to and control; I had to train a lot."

"I bet...I'm still training with my Innocence. Hevlaska said I could go on missions but I hope I don't screw up on them..." Chaoji stopped at the top of the stairs and patted Kisho briefly on the back (the young teenager sprawled forward a few steps from the force).

"Sorry. But anyway, when you're in the field, I bet you'll do fine. Don't worry too much about it. Your teammates will help you if you're really in trouble, and that includes me. We'll probably go on missions together sometime soon, and I look forward to seeing what you can do." Chaoji and Kisho had reached Allen's room by this time and Kisho hurried and opened the door, letting Chaoji in so he could set the unconscious exorcist down on his bed.

"He looks a little better than before," Kisho said as Chaoji pulled the sheets and blanket from under Allen and covered him up. "But I think I'll stay until he wakes up so I can ask how he's feeling." Chaoji nodded.

"Good idea. I'll stay too in case you need help." Kisho hesitated, but knew there might be a chance of Chaoji getting suspicious if he said no to his offer....he could figure out what to do later.

"...Alright. Thanks, Chaoji." The brown-haired man smiled and nodded, then pulled a chair up from near the door and sat, unaware of what Kisho was thinking about.

_What did he mean when he said that Matron couldn't help him? Maybe only professional, expensive doctors could? But if he's that sick The Black Order would probably help, right? Cloud Nyne told me some places serve exorcists for free. _Kisho sat down at the desk near Allen's bed and rubbed his head. _What's the matter with him?_

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**Author's Note: I had the idea for Miranda using her Time Record on an Akuma because of a very random thought...that happens pretty often to me....it's a little strange. But I'm not nuts because of them (really, I'm not .;)... I just write them down! I think they help with my writing. My thoughts are either random or creative or both....I'm not sure really. If they're creative I'm happy because I don't know if I'm really a creative person. I do know that I am random, however. ^.^**

**Welllll...that's all from me for now. Hope the chapter was good. I think it was not too bad, but you're all the judge, and I'm just the author. Thank you for continuing to read this story! I really appreciate that. Bye for now. And sorry for any glaringly annoying mistakes...I know I've probably made them...it's just me that edits this story so I miss things. Maybe it's more interesting or funny that way, though...okay, that's really all now. See ya!**


	17. Future

**Author's Note: Allen probably sounds a little depressed and dare I say angsty/emo in this chapter.....buuuuut....I think I would be too if I had to deal with what he was dealing with. So he may or may not be OOC in this chapter. The dialogue might also sound cheesy and weird but well I'm just going with what I have or else I'll never upload it ^^;**

**Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters, their names, and I don't own the places I mention either. I do own a pair of white mittens I got from my mom last Christmas, but I put them somewhere and my cat Tabby found one of them and took it to my mom, and the other one's still missing. If anyone sees it please let me know.**

**Kisho: You....(cough)....know it's not really possible for them to do that, right?**

**Me: Yeah....I wish I knew where I put them. I was in a stupor because of my cold so I can't remember.**

**Kisho: Don't scare people off. Just let them read.**

* * *

**Chapter Fifteen - Future**

"_Allen, your resolve is weakening....those memories are beginning to take hold....I assume that's why." A white-haired teenager stared up through the darkness around him towards a glowing figure._

"I've tried to stop them....but it hasn't worked. I don't know which memories are mine and which memories are The Fourteenth's anymore..."

"_Your friends are troubled, and they constantly worry about you." Allen felt a quick wave of pain in his chest._

"I won't be an exorcist for much longer, and maybe I should just accept that now. If what Master said is true, then I want to make sure it at least never happens. I'd prefer to kill myself...that's better than me killing one of my friends." _Hevlaska shuddered, then snaked her long glowing body down towards the exorcist, and stopped when they were staring face-to-face._

"_Is that the only way?"_

"I don't want to hurt any of my friends." _Allen stared down at his left hand. _"I can change how Master said it would be....if I'm dead before then there won't be anything left for that Noah to take over, no matter how hard he wants to." Allen looked down quickly as he muttered, "My Innocence can affect me...It's meant for destroying Dark Matter." _Hevlaska leaned her head towards Allen's._

"_You would use it to destroy yourself? Look at me," Hevlaska commanded softly, and reluctantly Allen raised his head. "Listen to me carefully. I sense that you are still the Accommodator for your Innocence, and it's also telling me that it doesn't have any plans to desert you. You came to this decision alone, the decision that the only way to stop this was to destroy yourself. But if your friends were working together with you to find a solution, then do you think that things could be different?"_

"I can't involve them. If I do, I'll end up hurting them."

_"Allen....would you rather them be hurt emotionally by the fact that a friend of theirs wouldn't let them in, and then have to live with that feeling for the rest of their lives? Or would they be afraid to lose their lives? Exorcists face that danger every day, and as you know many of them have died." _Allen clenched his fists and couldn't stop the angry yell building inside of him.

"It's one thing if Noah or Akuma kill them, but they don't except to be killed by one of their comrades!" His voice echoed sharply around the dark chamber where Hevlaska resided. The Innocence Keeper continued to speak as if Allen hadn't said anything.

"_Except for your left eye, there is hardly any dark matter in your body. It is...because of that eye that this could start to happen. I believe that if you had not had that area of Dark Matter, so close to your mind, the memories would not have taken hold. If your eye had been normal, and some time had passed I imagine they would have been forgotten, just like a bad dream...not to mention that children are quite resilient and independent....I doubt you'd have put up with the memories for long." Allen's eyes widened and flashed up towards Hevlaska._

"Mana....he couldn't have cursed my eye on purpose, could he?"

"_I can't say. And you know better than anyone that there is no way to find out."_

"He must have....given me those memories before he...died, and then cursed my eye so they wouldn't go away?" Allen ground his teeth and shook his head, trying not to have another outburst. The one he was upset with wasn't Hevlaska, and she was the only one around to hear him. "Even after becoming an Akuma, did you still want to bring him back...?" He murmured to himself.

"_Your friends are doing all they can." _Allen sighed.

"I know....especially Lenalee and Lavi...."

_"They are looking out for you, and so is the Heart." Allen looked away but Hevlaska tilted his chin with a glowing tendril so that his steel-blue eyes were looking straight at her face._ _"You've been through many hard times, but nothing stopped you. Personal risk meant nothing to you, but when your friends are at risk, everything changes, doesn't it? They feel the same way—they'd rather let themselves be hurt than see you hurt. You can take those feelings and cooperate with each other. It's difficult for one person to take on this much alone."_

"So.....don't let myself be alone."

_Hevlaska touched her forehead to Allen's and a light sparked between them. "Yes. And don't give up. There is still something that can be done to help you. I believe that you—not you as someone else, not someone else acting through you—are still present in the future." Allen smiled sadly, recalling that Hevlaska had made a prophecy about him when he'd first arrived at The Order, but things were much different now than they were then. Or maybe he was._

"A prophecy?" He asked dully.

"_A feeling. Sometimes those are more accurate than prophecies." Hevlaska replied, then lifted her forehead away from Allen's._

"In the future...I'm still me."

In his dream, Allen closed his eyes slowly, then opened them to find that he was lying in bed instead of standing among the darkness in his 'dream'. It had been a dream, and he had been asleep, but the exchange between him and Hevlaska had been real.

Glancing around, Allen observed that the room was dark, but he noticed a glow from his bedside table and looked over to see that the small oil lamp was lit. An empty chair was right next to his bed and a cup of water was sitting there. Looking further Allen saw that someone was sitting at the desk. His steel-blue eyes began to adjust further to the dim light and he saw that the person was Kisho, slumped across the desk asleep and using his arms as a pillow. An open book lay nearby the young teenager and Allen guessed he'd been here a while, reading his book to pass the time, but had fallen asleep somewhere along the way. Allen swung his legs over the edge of the bed, stood, and quietly went to the window to open the curtains. It was dark outside and he guessed it was probably eight or nine at night. When he and Kisho ate lunch it had been around two O' clock—Allen had been asleep for a long time. Shuffling noises made Allen shut the curtain and look towards the desk. Kisho was mumbling sleepily and as he watched the kid opened his eyes and blinked drowsily a few times. The white-haired exorcist made a face of disgust when he saw Kisho had drooled over the book he'd been reading, the same one he'd talked about earlier. _He might not have to turn it back in after all...that or he'll have to replace it, _Allen thought.

Reaching for a tissue box on his desk Allen grabbed a few tissues and handed them to Kisho, who blinked again and took them while mumbling, "Thanks," then rested his head on his hands and book again, then closed his eyes. He also began drooling some more.

Allen twitched and muttered, "Bet you sleep right through earthquakes..." And then, taking a breath, Allen yelled, "Wake up!" and Kisho jolted upright, reaching out a hand, which hit the lamp, and it began to topple over, but the teenager grabbed for it and stood it back up. Kisho checked the lamp and made sure that oil hadn't spilled out of it; when he saw that none had he rubbed his eyes and turned his head towards Allen.

"Sorry about that, I guess I was...uh....hey, you're awake! How do you feel?" Kisho stood quickly and pushed the chair towards the desk.

"A lot better." Allen paused. "Did you take me here?"

"I started to, but Chaoji came by and carried you here. He wanted to take you to Matron, but I convinced him to just take you to your room."

"What'd you tell him?" Allen asked gingerly.

"I told him you just had a bad headache and that you told me it happens sometimes...said if you took a rest you'd get better, and he left it at that." Allen sighed.

"Thanks...and again...don't tell anyone about this. Especially not Lenalee. Just say I got sick and am better now if anyone asks. Chaoji will probably mention it, though..."

"He was worried about you...but he believed me that it was just a bad headache. If he'd seen you when I had, though, it would have taken a lot more to convince him." Allen flinched slightly. "It really didn't look like you were just had a headache. It looked like you'd been poisoned or something. You looked..." Kisho put a hand over his face and searched for a word, remembering the panicked moment when he thought Allen had been dying, but could only come up with, "really bad." Allen rubbed his face with both hands and sighed again.

"Sorry about all this." Kisho shook his head, not feeling annoyed, but relieved to see that Allen seemed to have recovered from his strange episode.

"Don't be. As long as you're sure you feel better...." Kisho said, trailing off at the end, giving Allen an apprehensive look, as if he was expecting another episode. Forcing a smile Allen gestured down the stairs.

"I'm fine, but I really need to go get some food. It's been ages since I had something to eat." The edges of Kisho's mouth twitched from a frown into a grin; if he wanted to eat, then was he really better? A really sick person usually didn't want to eat much.

"Can't wait to see how much you eat this time," he said jokingly.

"It'll be a lot," Allen said, and was relieved to have an excuse to laugh as his stomach growled noisily. "But before we go, did you stay in my room the whole time I was asleep?" Allen asked as Kisho started heading for the door.

"Yeah. Hope you didn't mind. Chaoji stayed too; we agreed that we'd stay so one of us could leave if you got worse, and later he told me he was going to get you medicine for your headache. I must have fallen asleep sometime after that, so I don't know if he came back again or not. I guess he didn't. If he came back and saw I was asleep he would have woken me up or stayed since I wasn't awake anymore." Allen noticed Kisho looked a little embarrassed. "...I was going to stay awake the whole time but," Kisho finally realized the purpose of the tissues Allen had given him and quickly wiped his face, "I guess I fell asleep. Sorry," he laughed. Allen laughed too and shook his head.

"Don't worry. Thanks for helping me. I'm fine now."

"Great....but if this happens again, tell me. I couldn't do much but you shouldn't just deal with whatever this is on your own anymore. You might have some really bad illness. The Order would take you to the hospital if Matron couldn't help, wouldn't they? They'd probably be able to help with whatever was wrong." Allen rubbed his head and wished he had gotten to his room before he'd passed out and been found by anyone...Kisho loved to ask questions. Allen felt a little guilty for being annoyed....since the kid was just worried. Besides, Allen was relieved that Kisho had found him since, being a newcomer, he didn't know anything about what was going on. The others did by now, and Allen knew that they'd been instructed to keep an eye on him as Link had, even if they didn't want to. That was why he didn't want his friends to know about this, because he knew, and they knew, what would happen after that. It would hurt everyone, but he knew it would especially hurt Lenalee and Lavi. Chaoji had seen him, but according to Kisho, he had still looked normal...and it seemed that Chaoji had just passed the incident off as Allen being a little under the weather and nothing that required further investigation or action....he hoped. With another sigh Allen walked to the door and opened it quickly, then headed out, wanting to not think about that anymore for the moment. Kisho grabbed his slightly damp book from the desk and exited the room as well before the door shut.

"I wish they could," Allen muttered quietly to himself, even though Hevlaska's words were still clear in his mind.

____________________________________________________

Shiori tried not to fidget as Matron wrapped bandages firmly around her middle, where a deep cut that had gotten twenty stitches was. The rest of Shiori's injuries were just minor scratches that Matron had cleaned and put smaller bandages on. The lupine exorcist's voice wasn't hurting as much now but she was under instructions to rest it—which was easy, since she didn't do much talking anyway. The cut on Lavi's forehead had needed twenty-five stitches and he had a thick bandage around his head, and while Matron began fixing Miranda's dislocated shoulder, he quietly grumbled about how the bandage was making his head throb because it was too tight.

_If you complain she'll just make it tighter,_ Shiori thought warily, even though Matron couldn't hear her. Lavi gave the wolf a sarcastic glare.

"And how do you know, oh Cautious One?"

_Because I complained and that's what she did to me. I want to leave and go tell Kisho we're back, but...._

"Yeah, I wouldn't do that, Shady. Exorcists have before and..." Lavi's voice lowered to a dramatic whisper, "it wasn't pretty, let's just leave it at that."

_Wh...What did she do?_ Shiori thought, tense, her still-childlike imagination filling in the blank with the worst possible scenario...which, for her, was somehow getting all her fleas back again. Because of that time, Shiori now hated any kind of bug even if they weren't parasitic, and even if she could just step on them. She was even afraid of bugs she used to think were nice, such as ladybugs and caterpillars, just because of the crawly feeling they gave her.

Lavi and most of the exorcists and researchers had noticed this, and while most thought it was either amusing or kind of sad, Lavi thought it was downright funny to see her cower from something like a fuzzy caterpillar and take off when it moved half an inch toward her.

_Hey! You never know when they might bite!_ Shiori snapped, and Lavi jumped slightly; he must have been thinking of her running away from a bug and she'd seen that memory. In addition to hearing and projecting thoughts, Shiori could send images and, Lavi had just discovered, see them too.

"Come on. Stay out of my thoughts, Shady. It's not my fault you tried to swallow my Innocence. You already have your own anyway, you gluttonous beast," he said with a smirk, jabbing a finger into Shiori's throat a few times.

_Stop it. Hey, if you want a few more stitches, I can take care of that._

"I believe I told you to rest your voice, Miss Shiori." Matron said suddenly, leaning over Lavi and Shiori as they sat together on an empty bed. "You are free to go now if you wish, but please, try to take it easy while you recover. That goes for you too, Mr. Lavi." Lavi was in the midst of pulling on Shiori's ears while she bit the collar of his shirt, but he suddenly stopped and looked toward Miranda with a concerned expression.

"How's your shoulder, Miranda? And you were using Time Record a lot."

"I'm fine, Lavi. Matron told me I should stay here so she can make sure my shoulder heals well. It was dislocated but had a small fracture, too, but it'll heal in no time, so don't worry. You two go on. Don't forget to visit me until I get better, though." She had directed the last comment to both Shiori and Lavi, but as she spoke, the redhead's face was turning red.

"Of course....I'll come visit you every day. I'll bring you food too. Are you hungry?" Miranda smiled softly and shook her head.

"I'm fine for now, but thank you." Lavi turned even redder, and Shiori glanced up at him and saw the new shade his face had turned, wagged her tail, and snorted as if laughing.

_Well, when did this all start? Then again, I always thought you guys were cute toget—OW! _Lavi tugged fiercely on one of Shiori's ears again and glowered down at her.

"Shut up, Shady," He hissed quietly, then said to Miranda, "We'll be going now. Get well soon, and see you later," Lavi said quickly to a perplexed Miranda, who watched as he dragged Shiori off of the bed and out the door.

_Lavi, I really do think you're cute together. _Shiori commented thoughtfully as she walked down the hall beside Lavi, who was in a sour mood.

"Don't girls think everything is cute?" He replied dryly, staring ahead of him and not looking at Shiori, who scoffed.

_Fleas aren't cute. Neither are ticks. _In spite of himself, Lavi couldn't help laughing.

"I don't think anyone thinks those things are cute. Spiders are, though, especially those really big ones in tropical climates that are the size of a plate and eat birds." Shiori shivered and whined. "Oh, right, I forgot about your bug phobia. Sorry."

_Sure you are,_ Shiori grumbled, but then thought, _If I could, I'd be smiling sarcastically, by the way._

The smells of the cafeteria wafted towards the two and Shiori sped up, suddenly realizing that she was shaking with hunger. Lavi followed and had to suddenly stop as the wolf came to a halt in front of him. "What's the problem? I want to eat too, so move it."

"Shiori!" Lavi heard a voice yell, and recognized that it was Kisho's. The kid was standing in the entrance to the cafeteria and was looking at Shiori and Lavi with an uplifted expression on his face. "When did you guys get back?" He bent down to give Shiori a hug but she didn't want to be hugged when her injuries were still painful so she quickly side-stepped Kisho and shoved her paw into his back, which sent him sprawling into Lavi. It happened so quickly Kisho didn't know how it had happened; he only knew that he was now hugging Lavi around the waist.

"What the...." Lavi exclaimed, his bruised midsection throbbing painfully from when Kisho had run into him. Matron had confirmed that luckily he had no broken ribs but that he should be careful until he completely healed. Lavi shoved a hand into Kisho's chest and roughly pushed him off, and the teenager fell backwards clumsily. "What in the world are you doing?" Lavi demanded, glaring. "It's fine you were happy to see me, but next time, just say so." Picking himself up Kisho glowered at Shiori.

"Sorry," he said irritably to Lavi, still giving Shiori an angry look, but she just wagged her tail and tilted her head innocently. Calming down a little, he asked, "So how was the mission? Did you end up finding any Innocence?"

"No, there were just Akuma there. I like that better usually, because you just have to focus on them, and not keeping them away from the Innocence. If there is one and they get it, it makes them stronger, and they probably would be even harder to fight than a Level Four." Kisho widened his eyes.

"Did one of those show up?"

_No, luckily. Just a Level Three, _Shiori explained, and Kisho gave a small laugh.

"Just, you say. I don't think I could defeat a Level Two." Lavi hit Kisho on the back and smirked.

"With that attitude, you never will."

"With a high-and-mighty attitude, I'll get killed," Kisho retorted and Lavi shrugged.

"Well, I'm getting myself some food. You guys come if you want." Shiori and Kisho followed Lavi into the cafeteria and talked along the way.

"Where's Miranda?" Kisho asked with a hint of hesitation. "She's okay, right?" Lavi stopped at the ordering window and looked briefly back at Kisho, who saw his eye narrow before he looked back.

"Would we have been acting like that if she hadn't been? Matron just made her stay in the hospital a while longer because her shoulder got injured." Kisho bit his lip, trying not to snap back an angry reply. Granted, his question had made it seem like he wondered if Miranda hadn't made it, and Kisho knew she was a more experience exorcist than him. Of course she would be fine. He guessed that was what Lavi had gotten annoyed about. "What have you been up to?" Lavi turned and asked suddenly, after giving his order to Jerry. It caught Kisho off guard and he jumped.

"Oh...nothing really. I just read my book and slept for a while." Lavi grinned.

"Just wanted to be lazy, huh?" Lavi asked, and Kisho felt a wave of annoyance, but forced himself not to say anything that would give today's events away. Chaoji was the only one who knew and although Kisho didn't know exactly why Allen wanted to keep what had happened a secret, he wasn't one to haul off and reveal something, especially if it seemed important...and somehow, this did. Allen seemed fine, but he didn't fully believe the older exorcist was completely better...if Kisho didn't tell anyone about his condition, and he got worse or even died because of it, he'd be responsible.

"Yeah, must have," Kisho replied casually, hoping his face looked indifferent, and it must have worked because Lavi didn't look at him suspiciously, or say that he knew he was lying. So far, so good...but if he was lying for a good cause, why did he feel so uneasy? Probably because lying was lying. But he knew that wasn't it. It was because something was still wrong with Allen even though he'd 'gotten better'. Then Kisho knew that he wanted to go talk to Allen, but could he really get the older exorcist to tell him about what was going on?

_It's not a problem now. _The way Allen had worded that sentence still had Kisho confused and he'd been puzzling over it ever since.

Had he simply meant that he was getting better, or was it something more serious? Had Allen meant something like, it wasn't a problem now because he'd be...

Lavi glanced up as Kisho sat straight up and practically leapt off of the bench he was sitting on, almost knocking Lavi's glass of water over in his haste. "Whoa, what's the rush, Kikun?"

"I have to go do something. See you later, Lavi," he said, which caused the twenty-year-old to make a face.

"You don't need to tell me about that, especially not when I'm eating. Jeez...." Lavi turned back to his meal.

"I wasn't talking about...forget it." With that, he dashed off, heading towards the stairs, and with gritted teeth he thought, _I'll talk to him again. I don't think he'll tell me anything this time, either, but I don't want to look back and see that someone died because I was too late again._

**Author's Note: Phew, well that was a little hard to get through. Feels like I took a long time editing it. I hope it wasn't too bad though :) I got another chapter out at least which I'm happy about. Let me know what you think of the story/chapter in a review. Hope I'm doing well. I have a Japanese test and a debate (I hate debates, they suck, and so does speech; I just wanted to momentarily complain, so feel free to ignore me) in International Relations coming up so depending on how those go I might or might not upload another chapter next week...but we'll see. I try to upload them within reasonable amounts of time...alright, anyway, bottom line—I don't plan on giving up on this story anytime soon. If I did I might suffer from Writer's Withdrawal (I am a writing person not a speech person).**

**Goodnight, or afternoon, and be careful to not catch the thing that's going around. I did, and it wasn't the flu, but still it's better to not get sick.**

**Allen: ...One would think :P**

**Link: Where am I? What did you do to me, anyway? I should be in here.**

**Me: Uhhh. You were reassigned?**

**Link: Uh-huh.**

**Me: Alright, well....while I figure that out....be distracted by the shiny thing! (Throws keychain at Link)**

**Link: What the?! What are you doing?!**

**Allen: ....Must be because of the fever.**

**Me: And you know what that needs? More cow bell!**

**Link & Allen: Or not. You're just crazy.**


	18. Wish

Chapter Sixteen - Wish

Before Kisho could start his dash up the stairs, he heard someone call his name. He stopped, wondering if he should just ignore Lenalee and go anyway, since it sounded like she hadn't actually seen him yet. But when Kisho didn't turn around to look she called his name again and he heard her voice getting closer. Sighing, he turned just in time to see the female exorcist run around a corner, spot him, and wave urgently. Kisho waved back but was mentally clenching his teeth.

"I've been looking all over for you! Hevlaska just detected multiple Innocence signatures in three different places. Come with me!" She took off, not waiting for a response, and Kisho ran to catch up with her. "You'll go with Lavi on a mission to recover an Innocence fragment, understand? You'll learn more soon. Oh, and Emile's the Finder on this mission...." Lenalee and Kisho stopped in front of Komui's door, and Lenalee glanced sideways at Kisho, saw his faraway expression, and realized he hadn't really been listening at all. "Kisho!" She yelled as loud as she could, which was pretty loud; her voice echoed off the walls, making made Kisho jump and look around, panicked. Then he gingerly looked over at Lenalee and noticed that her hands were on her hips and her foot was tapping slightly.

"S-sorry..." was all he could mumble.

"This is important. Please pay attention, alright? Or tell me if anything's wrong."

_I can't..._

"Just come on. I can see that I'm not getting through..." Lenalee opened the door, took Kisho's arm, and he didn't protest as she pulled him quickly inside. Chaoji, Lavi, Kanda, and Krory were standing in front of Komui's desk. Kisho hurried to stand next to Chaoji, and Lenalee shut the door, but a moment later it opened and everyone looked to see Allen walking in. Blinking, Kisho was about to say something to him but Komui spoke before he got a chance.

"Alright, everyone. I'm sure you know why you've been called here. Three Innocence signatures have been detected, and you are going to go immediately and secure them. Let me explain the groups. Lavi and Kisho, you two are partnered together, and Emile will be accompanying you. You will meet him in Karlstad, Sweden, right outside the train station. Use your Golem to locate each other—he has one too. Lavi is the mission leader, so follow his orders and also help him carry them out, Kisho. Understood?" Kisho and Lavi nodded and Komui moved onto Krory and Kanda. "Kanda and Krory, your area is Paris, France, and a Finder, Camille, will be waiting for you when you arrive as well. Krory is the mission leader." Krory looked taken aback while Kanda looked annoyed. "I've given you both Golems, and Camille has one as well, so you'll be able to find each other as quickly as possible once you arrive."

Lastly, Komui addressed Chaoji and Allen. "You two are heading for Madrid, Spain. If you remember the Finder Michael, he'll be assisting you during this mission." Allen thought back and realized that Michael had been the Finder for one of his earliest missions at The Order, and briefly let his mind wander, but came back to attention when Lavi nudged his arm. "Chaoji will be the mission leader. That's all. Find the Innocence fragments as quickly as possible. You're dismissed," Komui concluded, and the exorcists turned and swiftly exited the room. Kisho tried to get Allen's attention but he was already out the door with Chaoji. Looking back at Lenalee and Komui, they waved goodbye, and he waved back.

"Come back soon," he heard Lenalee call as they left Komui's office.

_I better come back,_ Kisho thought.

* * *

Lavi and Kisho had long since left The Order on their mission. They'd set out from a port first and were now on a ship that would dock in Norway. After disembarking, they'd go to the train station and ride from Norway to Sweden, and after that they'd finally arrive at Karlstad. About three hours into the trip, Lavi and Kisho had wandered onto the deck now to enjoy some fresh air and Kisho, who hadn't been on ships that often, had been relieved to find he wasn't seasick.

"What was the town called again?" Kisho asked, probably for the third time, but Lavi just told him, though with slightly less patience than before.

"Karlstad, Sweden."

"Oh, right." Lavi furrowed his brow at Kisho, who had moved to the deck's railing and was now staring out over the ocean.

"Listen, Kikun," he began, and the teenager's dark brown eyes turned towards him, "if you're planning on being distracted for the whole mission, then things really won't go as well as we want them to, and that's even if the Akuma don't show up....and there's no way they won't. I get if you're nervous, since you're new, but try and get it together before we get there." Kisho looked away from the away from the ocean towards Lavi.

"Karlsgrad," Kisho stumbled slightly over the name, "is just a little..different. And I'm already together. I'm just...thinking about something."

"Well, don't overload your brain, if you know what I mean," Lavi said nonchalantly, also leaning on the railing and staring around at the water that stretched for miles and miles around them. Kisho rolled his eyes and went back to staring across the water.

Lavi was studying Kisho with a thoughtful look, and when Kisho felt his neck prickling he looked around and jumped when he saw Lavi staring at him with a slightly sinister grin. "What?" Kisho asked, startled.

"Are you thinking about someone?"

"Yes. Right now I'm wondering why someone named Lavi is staring at me with a creepy look on his face."

"I meant, are you interested in someone? Is that's why you're sighing and staring off into nowhere all the time?"

"No," Kisho replied, and began observing the ocean again.

"You're boring....so you don't like anyone?"

"No," the teenager replied bluntly, "at least not in that way."

"You can tell me. Isn't there someone you like just a little bit?"

"I said no," Kisho said with finality, but Lavi kept pressing him.

"Hey...aren't the girls at The Black Order cute? And you've seen that Finder Camille around before, haven't you?"

"Umm...I can't remember. Maybe."

"And Lenalee's a real cutie too," Lavi said, winking his only visible eye.

"Do you want to get killed by Komui?" Kisho asked stiffly.

"What about Lo Hua at the Asia Branch?" Kisho held his head in his right hand and sighed.

"What will it take to shut you up about this?" He groaned, massaging his forehead.

"You answering my questions," Lavi replied, still grinning, and Kisho lifted his head and gave Lavi a harsh look.

"Fine. Yes, Lenalee's cute, and so is Lo Hua. But seeing girls is low on my list of priorities right now." Lavi leaned back, put his hands behind his head, and sighed heavily.

"You're still too young to understand these things, aren't you? That's a shame..."

"Yeah, too bad....if I cared about that kind of thing, that is," Kisho said boredly, raising an eyebrow at Lavi. After a few minutes of silence, Lavi suddenly spoke.

"You know....you're a nice kid, and all....but when people can't see something really obvious, they bother me a little." Kisho didn't have to look at Lavi long to see that 'a little' was an understatement—Lavi's face had darkened, his mouth was in a tight frown, and his fists had clenched slightly.

"What are you talking about?" Kisho asked defensively, and a hint of suspicion crossed Lavi's face.

"Now you're playing dumb...because you know what I'm talking about." Kisho clenched his teeth.

"Do I?" He asked calmly, then held a hand to the side of his head.

"Bak and Komui aren't the only ones who....." Lavi trailed off suddenly and stared at Kisho. "What? Trying to ignore me?" Kisho had a hand over his ear and his eyes were closed tightly.

"No, I'm not....I hear a weird sound....can't you?" Lavi's expression changed from angry to interest.

"What does it sound like?" Lavi asked warily, walking closer to Kisho.

"Ringing...like my ears are ringing, but it's different. It's right inside my head, and really loud....it kind of hurts." Kisho shook his head a few times like he could get rid of the ringing that way, but the sound didn't stop.

"Your head's buzzing?" Lavi questioned, perplexed, but then he shrugged. "You might just be seasick or something. Maybe you should go take a rest until it goes away. It's probably a good idea anyway, so you can be ready for the mission." Lavi gestured to the stairs that led to the lower part of the ship and Kisho nodded slowly.

"Yeah....I'll do that. See you later," Kisho mumbled, still holding his head, and stumbled slightly off towards the stairs and vanished below deck. He found a spot close to the stairs, but where he wouldn't get in the way, and sat down. Leaning against the wall Kisho wrapped his arms around himself and after a few minutes of thinking about what would happen on the mission, and what he could do to help Allen after he got back, he dozed off.

* * *

Kisho woke suddenly when he felt a nudge in his side, and looking up, he rubbed his eyes and made out Lavi standing over him. "Get up. We have to get off the train." Kisho stood up and yawned, then wearily followed Lavi out of the train. Even though he'd been sleeping for most of the trip, each time he woke up he just felt more drained. He still wanted to sleep for some reason but the way he was feeling he was worried he wouldn't be able to wake up if he fell asleep again, plus it wouldn't be long until they arrived at their destination. "Feeling any better?" Lavi absently asked as he looked around for Emile. Kisho held his head and shook it a few times. The ringing was still there and it seemed to be louder than before, and shaking his head did no good; the ringing just returned every time like a persistent swarm of flies. The problem must not have been seasickness....or maybe he had been, but even so, had to get used to being on land again after all that time. He was looking forward to the final train ride to Karlstad, where they could finally start the mission. If they were lucky, Akuma hadn't found the Innocence yet, even with its strong signature but Kisho and Lavi had begun to feel pressed for time a while ago.

"Umm, yeah, fine," Kisho finally replied distractedly, walking faster to keep up with Lavi, and to distract himself from the slight headache the ringing was giving him, he started looking around for Emile too. "This is Karlsgrad, huh?" He asked faintly, trying but failing to stay awake, since for some reason he felt like he was about to black out and was starting to stumble a little.

"Karlstad," Lavi corrected, "but you almost had it." Now outside the station, Lavi glanced around, and soon saw who he was looking for and approached him casually, Kisho shuffling alongside him. "Sorry it took us so long, Emile. What's the situation around here?" Emile moved closer and replied in an undertone.

"There have been no signs of Akuma yet, and the Innocence signature is still here, but we should hurry. I'll take you to its location and we can start looking." Lavi nodded and turned to Kisho.

"Gotcha. Hear that, Kikun? Now come on..." Lavi and Emile moved away, but a few steps later, Emile turned and stopped. Sighing, he touched Lavi's shoulder and pointed. Lavi turned and noticed that Kisho was pitifully ambling along after them and he called in an extremely annoyed voice, "Hey, what are you doing? We don't have all day!" Kisho suddenly staggered off to his left, swayed a few times, then sank to his knees and fell onto his side. Emile and Lavi stood for a few seconds, having not expected him to suddenly fall over. But Lavi got over it quickly and muttered, while walking towards the still form, "....For the love of...." Before he reached Kisho, however, the kid suddenly pushed himself to all fours, and from there stood painstakingly slowly, until he was standing with his head on his chest. "Kid, what is wrong with you? It would have been helpful for us to know that you had narcolepsy."

"Lavi...." Emile said seriously, coming up beside him and lifting Kisho's chin slowly. "He's still asleep. Look at his eyes." Lavi did, and gave a little start; the dark brown eyes were staring fixedly, and Kisho wasn't blinking or even moving his eyes around. Lavi raised a hand to shake his shoulder, but Emile grabbed his wrist. "Don't. It seems like he's sleepwalking; it could be harmful to wake him up. If he is narcoleptic, he should wake up on his own any moment now." Lavi frowned and let his arm drop as Emile released it.

"But he's been sleeping all day. This is the third time he's taken a nap. He started acting strange when we were on the ship to Norway." Emile and Lavi's attention moved back to Kisho as he began mumbling.

_"Fragment....Heart....find....me....now." _Lavi and Emile barely had time to move out of the way before Kisho stepped forward swiftly and began walking away from the train station, but Lavi and Emile followed and soon realized he wasn't heading for the town. Checking a map Emile quickly found where they were.

"We're near Lake Vänern, and that's where he's heading. But why, I can't...." Emile broke off with a startled exclamation and suddenly burst out, "What he said...about a fragment and the Heart...." Lavi understood immediately what Emile was trying to say.

"You mean, it might be here, and somehow he honed in on it?" He asked, dumbfounded, and Emile nodded fervently. "He's not a Finder! How can he have done that? And anyway, I thought that...._everyone_ thought that it was..."

"I know," Emile said before Lavi could finish, "but we should follow him now. Maybe he's just found a normal Innocence. All Innocence are connected to the Heart, and the Heart is connected to all Innocence, and we need to recover this one right away. We can figure out what happened with him once we're back at The Order." Lavi didn't say anything else, understanding the Finder's reasoning, but he was still filled up with a thousand questions about what was happening with Kisho. Panda would be over the moon to hear about this, but he wondered if he'd be able to explain it any better. As they walked he kept them to himself and kept his ears and eyes peeled for Akuma or any other unwanted enemies. His fingers were inches away from his Innocence weapon and he was prepared to whip it out and fight at a moment's notice. At the very edge of the lake where the water was lapping up against the shore, Kisho stopped and the water washed up over his shoes. Lavi, still not entirely believing he was some kind of Finder, thought that would wake him up but he didn't seem to notice. He shook his head at Kisho and held a hand to his forehead, then looked out at the lake. "This is the place it's located," the Finder announced, looking impressed and puzzled. "He really did know where it was...subconsciously, anyway."

"I wonder if he's telling us it's in the lake." Lavi walked towards Kisho and stood in front of him and noticed that he still had the same glazed look as before. "None of us would last very long if we dove in to get it, even if I used my Innocence hammer to take us there. It could be all the way at the bottom, for all we know." Emile pulled a book from his backpack and began flipping through pages. "I don't suppose you'd want to go down there, would you?" Lavi glanced at Kisho's hands, which were open and flat at his sides. "I have an idea." He held up a fist. "Rock, paper, scissors, go!" He yelled, then held out two fingers on his right hand and pointed to the lake with his left. "You lose! Go find the Innocence!" He laughed, trying to lift his frustration at the dead-end their mission had suddenly taken, but Kisho seemed unable to hear him and hadn't responded so the whole thing wasn't as amusing as it could have been.

"That's cheating," Emile said sarcastically to Lavi, who walked over and peered at the book the Finder was reading.

"I think it was more like the perfect opportunity," Lavi replied.

"And anyway, it says here that the surface area of the lake is 5,650 kilometers, its average depth is eighty-five feet or twenty-seven meters deep, and its maximum depth is 334 feet or 17 meters deep." Emile closed the book with a snap and returned it to his backpack. "I'm glad this book did the conversions; they drive me crazy." Lavi scoffed and now was glaring at the lake, saw that Kisho was still standing there, then looked back towards Emile.

"I was worried about that. There's no way we can stay down there long enough to find it." Emile nodded.

"Even in the rare event one of us managed to find it, it's unlikely we'd be able to swim back up with it in time, assuming it's in the lake."

"Well, Mr. Exorcist-Finder hybrid found this place, and you said it's the right one. As long as Akuma don't show up and until the sun goes down we can stay out here looking for it....but who am I kidding." Emile nodded longingly.

"Easy gets too repetitive after a while."

Lavi glanced over his shoulder at Kisho, but he was nowhere to be seen. "Oh, no...." Running back to the lakeshore, Lavi looked around frantically, but saw no trace of the kid. "I wasn't being serious, you moron!" Emile rushed up and stared disbelievingly at the lake's still surface.

"Could he possibly have done whatever command he heard? He'll never be able to hold his breath that long."

"That stupid kid's going to drown!" Lavi growled, pressing a hand to his head.

"He might not have gone that deep yet....I'll go in and look for him!" The Finder was preparing to rush in and dive when a gigantic spout of water appeared about thirty or so feet out from shore.

"What now?" Lavi burst out as the spray from the spout shot higher. A shape suddenly burst free from the spout and dove back into the water, and a fin began skimming towards shore. Lavi pulled out his Innocence weapon and activated it. "Here's our Akuma. I knew they'd show up sooner or later." Lifting his hammer, Lavi twirled it and huge glowing seals appeared around it. He was about to select one when the Akuma suddenly leapt out of the water. It was huge, probably the size of an orca, except with a thinner body, a longer, narrower snout, and dotting its fins and lining its back. Its body and size reminded Lavi of an orca, but the way its head and mouth were shaped reminded him of a crocodile....weird combination, he thought. But that wasn't what had caught his attention. A human figure was on its back, now raising a weapon to stab, and even from this distance the weapon looked familiar—a sickle, Lavi realized with a jolt.

Dark blood spurted from the Akuma as Kisho stabbed downward fiercely and the Akuma let out a large roar. Splashing back into the lake, the Akuma remained out of sight for a few seconds, then leapt into the air again and twisted its body sharply, which knocked Kisho from its back where he hit the water with a smack ten feet from shore. The Akuma growled, dove again, and the fin began moving swiftly towards where Kisho had hit the water. "SWIM, YOU MORON, SWIM!" Lavi shouted at the top of his lungs, hoping his voice would reach Kisho even if he was underwater.

A shape broke the surface of the water a second later, and it was Kisho's, but even if he started swimming now he'd never make it to shore in time. The Akuma was swimming too fast and once it caught him, the kid wouldn't have a chance. Grinding his teeth, Lavi held his hammer towards where the Akuma would be in a second and the seals over his head disappeared. "Extend!" He yelled, then jumped on the handle as the hammer grew in length and shot through the air. When he was a few feet away from the Akuma, Lavi leapt off of the handle, clenched it tightly in his hands, shouted, "Grow! Grow! Grow!" and with a powerful swing he slammed his weapon into the Akuma, flipping it over and tossing it through the air about ten or so feet. Kisho was almost at shore now and Emile ran forward to help drag him out. As he got closer he could tell that sometime after he'd gone into the water the trance he'd been in had broken.

"Are you alright?" Emile asked urgently, looking for any signs of obvious injury, but he saw none and the teenager just seemed shaken.

"The Akuma has the Innocence....it changed when it got it! He's Level Three now, but if we beat it, we can get it back! We have to get it back." Kisho jerked free of Emile's grip and ran around the lakeshore until he could see where the Akuma was. It was swimming towards Lavi, who was standing on the handle of his weapon while the rest of it was in the water, anchored in the lakebed. Kisho pulled out his Innocence weapon and activated it, then unwound the glowing green chain quickly and, running out into the lake up to his chest, he hurled it towards the Akuma as it leapt from the water. The chain wound around the whale-like Akuma's body and held tightly, the glowing links seeming to fuse to the Akuma's skin; pulling as hard as he could, Kisho was barely managing to keep the Akuma from going after Lavi. Kisho felt a wave of relief (and alarm) as the Akuma broke its attention from Lavi, roared and whipped around to face him. Kisho pulled on the chain once, sharply, and the links slipped free of the Akuma's body and he dodged out of the way as it spat a jet of water at him. Lavi extended his hammer and got back to shore quickly, then raised it over his head like before. The seals appeared again, and he picked the Heaven one, then slammed it into the ground.

"Heaven Seal! Thunder Rolling in the Heavens!" Clouds gathered overhead and darkened the sky while sending powerful jolts of lightning through them. Then numerous bolts shot from the sky and converged just before striking the Akuma, sending powerful waves of lightning through its body. "Now to get you on land," Lavi said, smirking, raising his weapon. Holding onto the handle tightly, he leapt off and readied to strike the Akuma, who was about to send another jet of water at Kisho. The monster howled when the hammer slammed into it and Kisho watched it fly off over the lake and into the nearby forest, knocking a few hundred trees down before finally coming to a rest at the base of a large one. Lavi and Kisho took off after it, wanting to catch it before it recovered, but a loud crashing issued from the mass of broken trees and knew it already had. In no time it came crashing out from the forest, roaring angrily, and with amazing speed for a water-dwelling Akuma on land, shot towards Lavi and Kisho. Lavi leapt out of the way and grabbed Kisho by the collar of his shirt, and the two were flicked further out of the way by a thrashing fin, and narrowly avoided being stabbed by the spikes, as the Akuma passed and turned sharply.

It lunged for Lavi but he raised his hammer and struck it under its chin, making its jaws snap forcefully together. A muffled but piercing shriek issued from its closed jaws and it swiped a fin at Lavi, and the redhead hissed sharply in pain as it left a deep cut in his right side that immediately welled up with blood. Kisho saw the Akuma about to open its mouth again and hurled the sickle's chain at it, and the links wound around the angry jaws and again fused tightly to the skin, preventing the mouth from opening. Then he lunged in and stabbed the Akuma sharply in the side of its neck, and ripped a gash open in its skin as he pulled the sickle towards him. Roaring in pain the monster swung a fin towards him and knocked him away. The chain came loose from around the Akuma's jaws as Kisho landed and rolled over a few times before stopping. The teenager leapt up quickly and felt a gash stinging on his right cheek; if he'd been hit any higher he'd probably have lost his eye. For the second time Lavi lifted his Innocence weapon and the seals circled once around his head before he picked the Heaven Seal once again and lightning shot down from the sky and hit the Akuma dead on. It roared in agony and once the attack finished, it thrashed its head around and then shot for the water; a minute later the waves that had appeared when the Akuma submerged itself were gone and the surface of the lake was still again.

A moment passed where nothing happened; Kisho and Lavi ran up to the shore, trying to see where it went. Without warning a massive jet of water issued from the lake and headed straight for the two; Lavi raised his hammer and selected the Heaven Seal again. "You just made things a lot easier!" He yelled triumphantly, and the bolts came from the dark clouds that were still present in the sky. Directing them towards the water jet, they traveled through the stream and were sent throughout the lake. A moment later there was a huge explosion and burst of water from the lake. Kisho watched as a shape flew again from the water and landed ten feet away with a thud that made the whole ground shake. Kisho wobbled from the shock of the impact and finally fell forward onto his chin from the vibrations. Lavi kept an eye on the still form of the Akuma and reached down, took Kisho by the back of his shirt, and set him on his feet.

"Nice going.....is it dead?" Lavi still didn't take his eyes from the Akuma as he answered.

"They usually vanish when you destroy them....he might be almost finished but let's not get closer to find out. I'll take care of this, Kisho. Just sit back and watch." As he was raising his Innocence weapon, the Akuma's eyes flew open and it lunged towards Lavi, who instinctively twisted out of the way. Thrashing its head to the side it bit its teeth into Kisho's side, headed for the shore, and a second later had disappeared into the water. Lavi got up, ran for the lake, and once he was deep enough he dove in.

Lavi could swim with his eye open underwater and despite the water's murkiness he could see fairly well, but hadn't spotted the Akuma or Kisho yet. He gripped his Innocence weapon in his left hand tightly but still swam hard, trying to see the Akuma and Kisho. Soon he saw a dark shape in the water, pointed his hammer towards it, and willed it to extend; it did and he kept the bigger end of the hammer pointing towards the Akuma as it took him closer. The form in the water must have seen him for it swam towards him, ready to fight, but suddenly its body jerked and went limp. Swimming closer, Lavi saw that it had been impaled with a large weapon and noticed it was similar to Kisho's weapon, except that it was bigger and deadlier-looking....more like a large farmer's scythe than its smaller counterpart, the sickle—Kisho's weapon. He dared to swim closer when the Akuma's body began to fade and finally vanished. A pink glowing object began sinking in the water and Lavi swam for it quickly, then snatched it in his hand when he was close enough. Staring at the object he knew it was a fragment of Innocence, but was it the Heart like Kisho had said? It was the same color Shiori had mentioned the Heart was in her dream. He shoved it quickly into a pouch just below his pocket and made sure it was securely stowed before he suddenly thought about Kisho being pulled into the water by the Akuma.

Whipping his head around, Lavi wondered where the kid was. It hadn't looked too good for him when the Akuma had grabbed him....he could have drowned already, or been killed by the Akuma after it dragged him under. But through the murky water he made out someone swimming laboriously towards him, and he quickly swam closer when he saw the glowing green weapon that was the size of Kisho's sickle. As Lavi reached him, he saw that a red liquid was staining the water around him and the kid was starting to sink. Lavi reached for Kisho's weapon and closed his fingers around the handle, but as he did so, the sickle suddenly vanished. Lavi let out a choke of surprise that caused bubbles to issue from his mouth. The weapon had disappeared, but a normal green Innocence cube was floating calmly in the water in front of him. Lavi grabbed it and shoved it into the same pouch as the other Innocence fragment, then aimed his Innocence hammer for the surface of the water. _Extend! _He thought urgently, feeling his lungs start to burn from lack of oxygen. They were zooming through the water quickly now, but Lavi was starting to feel like he wouldn't make it before he drowned, but not a moment too soon they broke the surface and Lavi coughed a few times, then took huge lungfuls of air and was dizzy with relief that they'd made it.

Now he had to check on the kid, though, and carefully he floated Kisho on his back to see the damage the Akuma had done to him. He winced when he saw the damage—the Akuma hadn't been able to make a direct hit, probably thanks to Kisho also trying to move out of the way when it had charged, but he'd still gotten him pretty good. The bite was deep and probably had hit some of his organs. And there was the matter of Lavi not knowing if bites would spread the Akuma virus; if they did, then there wasn't anything he could do, what with Krory not being here to suck the poison out of his body like he'd done for Lavi once. Shaking his head Lavi decided to just get to shore for now and extended his Innocence hammer all the way to shore, urging it to hurry, and when they hit shore Emile ran up as Lavi set Kisho on the ground carefully.

Emile surveyed Kisho's injury and yanked off the brown coat that was trademark for a Finder and wrapped it tightly around the teenager's middle, tying it tightly and then pressing hard to try and stop the bleeding. Lavi checked his breathing and found that it was strained but still steady, and no black stars were appearing on him so far, which was always a good sign. Emile had turned Kisho onto his side when he found that it was on his front and back, and pressed both sides to stop the bleeding. Lavi was trying to get Kisho to reply when his eyes suddenly opened slowly.

"Oww...." Kisho groaned weakly, but managed to give a pained smile, which made Lavi feel somewhat relieved, even if he wasn't sure Kisho would live at this point.

"I'm not surprised. I think that Akuma wanted to eat you," Emile said, managing a slight chuckle as he continued to press on Kisho's injury. "I think the bleeding's slowing down now...but you shouldn't move yet. I'll go into town and find a hospital and come back with help. Take over for me; if more Akuma show up you can fight them but I wouldn't be able to do much." Lavi nodded and quickly pressed again on Kisho's injury as Emile removed his hands; Kisho hissed with pain and closed his eyes, grimacing and biting his lip. "If I don't come back in an hour, take him back to down; I think it'll be safe to move him by then, plus it'll get dark soon after that." Lavi nodded.

"Got it." Emile took off for Karlstad at a fast pace, leaving Lavi to take care of Kisho.

"Akuma's....gone....right?" Kisho managed to ask even though the pain was making it hard for him to talk much.

"Yeah, we got it. And I have the Innocence right here. We just have to get you back in one piece now," Lavi said cheerfully, even though he felt far from it. It just didn't look too good for Kisho at the moment, even if the bleeding was stopping. Kisho could bleed to death or die because of the Akuma virus.

"Hey...you said you read my report...right?" Lavi nodded once, slowly. "Then, if I die here, could you tell Shiori....about what was in there? She thinks....our mom just...died in the attack, but I found out...it was before...that..." Kisho was starting to drop off, and even if it was just because of fatigue, Lavi didn't want him to fall asleep before Emile got help so he tried to keep him talking.

"....Sure....but do you really want to leave her with that memory? She could start to hate that you didn't tell her earlier."

"....I guess not....but I wanted to tell her...what happened right away, except I never....could. And...one more thing....about the Innocence...." Kisho said, yawning slightly, then wincing. "It's Allen's." Lavi lifted an eyebrow.

"Allen's?" He asked, perplexed. "He already has a fragment, you know." Lavi lightly rapped on Kisho's forehead. "Did something get knocked loose in there?" Kisho managed to give Lavi an amused glare.

"No. It's his. I can't remember what happened after we got off the train, but I remember having this voice in my head, some feeling, that I needed to get it to him right away."

"You almost drowned and you've lost blood. I wouldn't look too much into it." Kisho's eyes closed. "It will help....with what's happening...to him."

Lavi's teeth clenched and he felt Kisho's pulse, checked his breathing, and then tried to see if the bleeding had stopped, and it seemed like it had—as far as he could tell anyway. He had just fallen asleep, but it had almost been an hour, and whether or not any of this had happened Lavi felt like getting back to town. If Emile came back and didn't find him, it wouldn't be great, but he'd know where he'd gone and that he would find the hospital on his own. Lavi himself needed some medical attention, too. Slashes from the Akuma's barbs were bleeding steadily, and by the way his whole body was hurting he knew he had some huge bruises. He'd also just come back from one mission, gotten treated, and then had to go on another one. His forehead hadn't completely healed from the last Akuma that had attacked him, and he still felt like his ribs had almost been broken. Standing, Lavi picked Kisho up carefully, sat him on the handle of his Innocence hammer, then got on himself and began to fly back to town.

**Author's Note: Soo, there we go! Part of my little idea about the Heart and whatnot. If it doesn't make sense now, hopefully it will soon, because I'm not done explaining. I have more events to come, so look forward to it! :) Thanks for still reading, everyone who is reading! That and any reviews make me really happy. I'm feeling pretty good about my creative life these days ^.^**

**Here's a little interesting information about Lake ****Vänern. According to Wiki a Viking ship was found at the bottom of it on May 6, 2009. Cool huh? And it's been around since 10,000 years ago when Ice Age took place XD and apparently it still has animals living in it from that time like an animal called Monoporeia affinis, a creature that is an amphipoda. I have no idea what kind of family that is, but it sounds like it's a frog kind of thing. Wait, Wiki says it's a shrimp-like crustacean thing that is .039 to .5 inches long. The picture of it actually looks kind of cute. I'd also like to eat, I mean, pet them! ^^'**


	19. Loss

**Me: Not much to say....**

**Kanda: That's a relief.**

**Me: .....so I'll just get to the point. I don't own D-Gray Man, its characters, places, things, Innocence, or Golems. Katsura Hoshino does. Anyway, have fun reading! ^^**

* * *

Chapter Seventeen – Loss

Lavi opened his eyes slowly and noticed that it was still dark, but a few lamps were glowing dimly around the hospital room. After he and Kisho had gotten back to town, Lavi had carried him to the hospital after being pointed in the right direction by some considerate citizens who had taken one look at them and thankfully decided to help instead of run away screaming. Lavi had blood soaking his shirt and part of his pants from the gash the Akuma had given him, Kisho was also covered in blood and unconscious, and they both probably looked beaten up in general.

Lavi stared at the ceiling wearily as he laid in one of the hospital beds, guessing that Komui had given him something through the IV needle in the vein by his right wrist to numb the pain while he cleaned his injuries and gave the most serious one, the gash below his heart, stitches. It seemed the pain medicine was making him a little sleepy, too. When Lavi had entered the hospital a few hours earlier, Emile and Komui had been there, just about to set off. The Finder must have called Komui to check out the Innocence and see how they were doing.

Lavi opened his eyes when he heard a door creak open slowly, then shut. "You're awake," a voice said, and footsteps moved closer to Lavi's bedside. Tilting his head towards the right, Lavi blinked a few times and gave a mumbled greeting. "How are you feeling?" Komui asked.

"....Tired....but mostly can't complain," Lavi replied, trying to keep his eyes open. Komui sat on a small stood that was next to Lavi's bed.

"Emile told us you recovered the Innocence, and he told us everything else that happened, too." Komui commented seriously, and Lavi nodded wearily.

"Yeah....that kid....he led us right to the Innocence. It caught Emile and me off guard, to say the least." He slowly reached a hand to his forehead. "What's up with him, Komui? And by the way, where is he?"

"Still being treated. A few of his internal organs were damaged from the Akuma, and there are fractures in a few of his ribs." Lavi shook his head. "He had some minor internal bleeding but that's under control now. He doesn't have any infection or signs of the Akuma virus. He should pull through, thanks to you and Emile. But his condition could change so we're not going to move him from here for a while, but you should be back to normal in a week or so. That gash was deep but luckily it didn't go deep enough to damage any organs, and it was a clean hit, which means it'll heal fine. There's no sign of infection or the virus, either. And the cut on your face is healing fine too." Lavi fumbled clumsily with the pouch on the side of his pant leg, since the pain medication through his IV was still in effect.

"I still have the Innocence, and....well, I have the kid's, too." Komui looked startled.

"Did his weapon get destroyed?" Lavi reached into the pouch near his right pocket and pulled both Innocence fragments out. "The pink one is the one we found, and the other one is Kisho's." Komui took them carefully with both hands. "Are you going back to The Order now, or are you staying here?"

"Krory and Kanda have finished their mission and got the Innocence with little difficulty, and I asked them to head to Spain in order to assist Chaoji and Allen with their mission." Komui paused briefly and closed his eyes, as if there was more to that story than he was saying right now. "You and Emile are going back to The Order tomorrow to take the Innocence back to Hevlaska." Lavi raised an eyebrow curiously.

"Are you going to stay here until Kisho wakes up?" Komui nodded and held a hand to his chin, looking troubled.

"Once he wakes up, I'm going to try and figure out what happened and why. Finders can locate an Innocence fragment's signature and discover, more or less, exactly where it is. But to my knowledge they've never been put into a state where they locate it seemingly by instinct. The only thing I can say right now is that somehow, his Innocence and this one possibly resonated with each other. Their powers might have even taken over his mind and body, drawing him to it. It could have been telling us that it had to be found no matter what."

"During the whole trip Kisho was saying he heard some weird ringing in his ears. Was that the Innocence trying to take control of him then, and when we got to Karlstad, he finally caved?" Lavi shook his head. "I thought he was just sick or something...but I guess it was more than that after all." Wincing and pushing himself to a sitting position, Lavi suddenly remembered something else. "When we were back at the lake and Emile had gone to get help, he told me that he'd had some feeling that that Innocence was Allen's. He was dead set on getting it to him ASAP, and seemed convinced that it would help him with...'what's happening to him'." Lavi stared at Komui seriously and watched as the Head of the Order realized what 'condition' he'd been talking about.

"You mean, the Noah's memories? He meant it would stop that?" Lavi rubbed his forehead.

"I don't know....maybe. I admit I didn't really believe he was making sense, since he'd lost some blood and was half-conscious. But how could he figure something like this out like that when we've been trying for ages?" Komui sighed heavily.

"I don't know. This is just another reason I want him to survive...so we can get closer to figuring this out. But I'm definitely going to ask Hevlaska if she knows anything."

"I could go ask when we get back." Komui nodded.

"I'd appreciate that, and once you do, contact me and let me know what she says. I will still go see her when I return, since I might know more by then...." Komui's gaze drifted down to the Innocence fragment, which was still faintly glowing greenish-pink. "But he won't be able to give Allen this Innocence, even if, as he said, it belongs to him." Lavi felt a jolt run through him and he looked at Komui with a stunned look on his face.

"Chaoji contacted me through his Golem. Just as he and Allen found the Innocence in Madrid, thousands of Akuma attacked them. Allen and Chaoji fought most of them—Level Ones—but barely managed to escape from about a hundred Level Threes and forty Level Fours. Chaoji got to a safe spot to try and come up with a plan, and I told him to bring the Innocence back right away and the Akuma could be taken care of later, but he told me then that Allen wasn't with him."

"What?! Has he seen him since then?" Komui shook his head.

"No. He knows they must have gotten separated while trying to escape from the Akuma—there must have been an Innocence like this there for so many to appear at once, and most of them at a very high level—" Komui paused to look at the greenish-pink fragment of Innocence in his hand, "and Timcampy is with Chaoji. He showed him an image of Allen but just for a second and he couldn't tell where he was, and since he doesn't have Timcampy, we can't trace his location or contact him." Lavi clenched his fists so tightly that the veins stood out on his hands and arms.

"How did so many strong ones show up there....is the Innocence fragment there the same as this one?"

"What do you mean, the same?" Lavi gritted his teeth but calmed down long enough to speak to Komui.

"I mean...that Innocence might be the Heart....or, I guess, part of it. I bet Emile told you everything already but that's what Kisho mentioned when he went into that trance. He said stuff about a fragment of the Heart and that it wanted him to find it." Komui's bleak expression became grave and he glanced again at the Innocence fragment in his hand.

"He said the Innocence was a Heart fragment?" Komui closed his eyes and didn't say anything for a while until Lavi prompted him.

"Komui? Do you know something about this? I've never heard any records of the Heart being split, and I would have, and Panda definitely would have. I don't know if it being split is a good thing, but if it were split, then it'd be harder for the Noah, Akuma, and Earl to find it. But what if even one fragment is destroyed, all the other Innocence are still wiped out?"

Komui closed his eyes and gave a heavy sigh. "....I can't say anything decisive just now. Don't worry about Kisho. We'll make sure he pulls through. In the meantime, try to get some rest so you'll be ready to go tomorrow. I'm sure you're hungry after everything, so I'll make sure you get something to eat tonight and tomorrow morning before you leave." With that, Komui waved to Lavi and left the room. Lavi yawned and curled up under the covers and suddenly realized how drained he felt. His eye drifted shut and Lavi was asleep in minutes.

* * *

A door closing caused Kisho to stir and open his eyes halfway, and he lay still for a moment, then tried to move around a little more. He felt stinging in his left side and couldn't remember why the pain was there. When he moved more, his side burned suddenly and sharply, causing him to lose his breath for a moment, but when he stopped moving the pain faded back to a minimum. No lamps were on in the room, but a dim light was making it easier for his eyes to adjust. Moving his head slowly, Kisho saw that a pale yellow light was filtering through the windows of the room he was in. Basically everything around him was white, and finally he got the impression that he was in a hospital. At once everything came back to him and, like the jolt a student would get upon realizing their homework wasn't done on the due date, Kisho remembered defeating the Akuma, recovering the Innocence fragment, and...after that he'd passed out. Lavi and Emile weren't in the room but someone had just left, he recalled, and wondered who it had been. He tried to sit up but it hurt him too much and he put his head back down on the pillows, sighing in frustration. Deciding to wait until he felt good enough to move, which could be a while, Kisho began observing his surroundings.

He'd already seen that he was in a white-colored room, and briefly wondered why hospitals didn't use different colors sometimes. Plus, it was a hospital, and he guessed since people got injured and sick and just about everything else that the white-everything would be hard to clean all the time. Wondering if boredom and the fact that he was drowsy from just waking up was making him think about the upholstery, Kisho tried to focus on something else. Nothing was pressing against his back, so his Innocence weapon had probably been taken away from him and put somewhere (nearby, he hoped), but in his scan of the room he hadn't seen it so far. Smiling slightly, he suddenly knew one of the advantages of being a Parasitic Accommodator; it was no problem to keep up with your Innocence, because it was always with you. With that, something else came back to him—Allen, and getting the newly-recovered fragment to him. Kisho's teeth clenched to brace himself for the pain and he carefully started sitting up despite the flashes of pain the movement gave him. Lavi still had the Innocence fragment, Kisho recalled, and he'd told him that Allen needed to get it and even why but he wondered if he'd made things very clear then and decided to go look for him. It would make the doctors angry when they found him wandering around, but it was for a good reason.

Probably ten minutes later, since every movement seemed to make him too dizzy to move, Kisho was sitting up in bed. Panting heavily from the energy he'd used, he began to swing his legs over the edge of the bed. Between waiting for dizzy spells to pass, Kisho managed to put his feet on the floor and wobble upright. As he moved he felt strange jolts that were similar to adrenaline shocks running through his body, and more than once he felt like he was going to fall over. It felt like he had been or still was being drugged. Something clicked in his tired mind and Kisho looked at his right arm and discovered that an IV had been inserted in his wrist sometime, and it was connected to a plastic bag with fluids on a stand that didn't look like it would move. As Kisho was contemplating pulling out the needle, the door opened again, and he looked towards it to see Komui walking in. He looked surprised when he saw the teenager moving around.

"You shouldn't be moving around yet," the man said, and motioned for Kisho to get back in bed.

"Wait a minute.....where are Lavi and Emile? And what happened to the Innocence fragment? He should still have it." Komui nodded and motioned again, this time sternly, for Kisho to sit down and reluctantly he did.

"Lavi and Emile just left and are returning to The Black Order and will give the Innocence fragment to Hevlaska once they get back. They will be fine, I assure you. There have been no other signs of Akuma around here."

"I need to go with them," Kisho announced, but Komui crossed his arms and shook his head once, his mouth in a thin line.

"You haven't recovered yet. It'll be at least two weeks or more before it'll be alright for you to move. You shouldn't have moved this much," Komui said firmly, "and you should still be getting rest."

"But...."

"Kisho," Komui said firmly, cutting the teenager off, "tell me what happened during the mission. I already spoke with Lavi and Emile, but tell me what you remember, from the beginning. Understand?" Kisho took a shallow breath, trying not to stretch his injuries too much, leaned back against the headboard, and gazed at the ceiling.

"When Lavi and I left for the mission, nothing out of the ordinary happened. We were on a ship to Norway and I started feeling a little off then." Komui raised an eyebrow.

"Could you give me more detail?" Kisho nodded once, hesitatingly, knowing this was where gaps in his memory began appearing.

"My ears kept ringing and it got to the point where I started getting really bad headaches." Kisho fell silent, like he was listening for something. "It's gone now, though. Anyway, Lavi didn't know what was going on either, and he told me to go get some rest. I did—and to be honest I didn't do much during the trip except rest—but each time I woke up, I never felt that rested. I always felt like I just wanted to keep sleeping, for some reason. But we off the ship, and then to the station, and the ringing hadn't gone away. I was feeling dizzy by then and was having trouble seeing and walking. I think I collapsed, and I don't remember anything after that except coming to and realizing that I was in a lake. I got to the surface and heard Lavi yelling at me to swim. I remember starting to swim, and realizing that I was holding my Innocence weapon and wondering when I'd activated it since I couldn't remember doing that. Once I got to shore Emile helped me up and after that Lavi and I fought the Akuma. I thought Lavi had killed it and he was going to finish it off, but it got up suddenly and dragged me into the water. My memory's kind of unclear here, too. Something happened and I killed it somehow, but blacked out after that. The only things I remember after that are asking Lavi if he had the Innocence, and talking to him about something....I can't remember what now."

"So something happened that made you have a gap in your memories. It seems, though, that you weren't aware of what you were doing, rather than having forgotten what you did. Am I correct in saying so?" Kisho thought a moment, then nodded.

"Yeah....I have no idea what I was doing then. It's like whatever happened then happened to someone else."

"They made sure you didn't wander off though, so they could try and find out what was going on," Komui explained, watching Kisho carefully for any reactions.

"Then....did they tell you what I was doing?"

"They told me you collapsed, then got up again, but that it was as if you were sleepwalking. You began saying things about an Innocence fragment and the Heart, and that apparently it was calling you to find it. They followed you and you led them to a lake, and Emile confirmed that it was where the Innocence was located and sure enough, you found it."

"That's.....but....how could I have found it? He had it after the Akuma was destroyed..." Kisho felt his heart thud with anxiety when Komui shook his head.

"Emile and Lavi told me that when you were still in that trance, we'll call it, you went into the lake, found the Akuma, and attacked it. We don't know where the Innocence was originally, but the Akuma tossed you out of the lake and when you got to shore you told Emile that the Akuma had gotten it and evolved to a Level Three Akuma. Lavi followed you after the Akuma pulled you into the water, and he says that you destroyed it with a larger-looking weapon than your sickle. He told me it looked more like a scythe. I assume your Innocence might have evolved and changed its form somehow so you could destroy the Akuma and live." Kisho held out his hands as Komui began placing something in his palms—something that was glowing green.

"An Innocence fragment?" Kisho asked, confused, wondering where this one had come from since Lavi and Emile were taking the other one back to Hevlaska.

"Lavi saw your weapon in the water, but when he touched it, it disintegrated. The Innocence fragment wasn't damaged, thankfully, so he brought it with him." Kisho stared at it and watched the rings around it pulse as they rotated slowly around the Innocence cube. "I'm not sure why it could have broken, but maybe the power it used to transform like that was too much for its form to handle. It changed its shape briefly in order to put up with the new amount of power, but couldn't keep it up for long, causing it to break."

_"That training session almost looked like it was a disaster..."_

_"What did you expect from a new recruit? I give him a week before he gets killed."_

_"Hey, you! Maybe you should just settle for being a Finder, since you can't seem to put up with being an exorcist!"_

The taunts aimed at Kisho when he'd first joined still stung a little, and sometimes made him wonder if he really would get killed even after he'd become better at fighting over time, but maybe the one about him being a Finder had been the truth, after all. Lifting his head towards Komui, Kisho asked meekly, "Would you.....well.....if an exorcist couldn't be an exorcist anymore, what....would you do?" Kick him out? Hopefully not. Kisho didn't want to leave. Where would he go, anyway? He was fourteen, probably couldn't take care of himself, and knew he couldn't buy a place to live or find anyone to take him in, which left—

"What are you talking about?" Komui asked, puzzled, a slight smile on his face. "We don't get rid of people that easily. We always need help around The Order. You know there are lots of Finders and scientists back at headquarters, right? It's the same at The Asia Branch. If a person can't be an exorcist, there are other ways they can help. But, as it goes, you don't have to stop being an exorcist. Equip-Type exorcists have more trouble than Parasite-Types with their Anti-Akuma Weapons; with a few exceptions they are still items and can be broken if they're subjected to an extreme amount of power or damage. There's a way we can make another weapon for you, unless you're saying you don't want to be an exorcist anymore." _Though, from everything those two told me, he fits the description of a Finder more than an exorcist. But I haven't heard of Finders who could instinctively find Innocence fragments before._

"Really?" Kisho's eyes widened in relief—he wouldn't be kicked out after all....and now he felt a little stupid, but there was more on his mind than that. "When I get back to The Order, do you think Hevlaska would...." He stopped, hoping he wasn't overstepping his bounds by asking. Komui nodded, prompting Kisho to go on.

"Yes?"

"....Do you think she would let me take that fragment of Innocence so I could give it to Allen?" Komui's eyes narrowed sternly and he frowned in a grave manner at Kisho.

"Why would you need to do that?" Komui asked, though had expected him to bring it up at one point or another.

"It'll help Allen. Something's wrong with him, and that Innocence fragment can help him get better."

"What led you to that conclusion?" Kisho felt his face burn and knew he didn't have any logical way to explain it.

"When I woke up that thought was in my head. _Use it to help Allen._ I don't know what else to say, but it's still driving me crazy. I can still hear that voice telling me the same thing, and it's been sounding more urgent each time." The teenager paused and looked at Komui uneasily, then, with a slight wince on his face Kisho asked gingerly, "You....don't think I'm crazy, do you, because I'm telling the truth. I was always bad at convincing people. I don't know why this is happening, but it is. That's why I was trying to leave just now." Komui sighed heavily and closed his eyes; when he opened them Kisho noticed he looked a little angry.

"Allen isn't at The Order. He and Chaoji are still on his mission, but the truth is, Allen's missing."

"Missing?" Kisho asked, dismayed, and felt his stomach twist uneasily as Komui nodded grimly. Unfortunately, sometimes 'missing' meant 'as good as dead'...especially since Allen was in a high-risk situation.

"He and Chaoji were attacked by a massive amount of Akuma and they were separated. Kanda and Krory are done with their mission and are on their way to Spain to assist them now. I met with them here and took the Innocence fragment they'd recovered and gave it to Lavi just before he and Emile left." A few minutes went by with neither person saying anything; but Komui finally decided to speak up and explain to Kisho. He would either find out in the most controlled situation there would be—now—or be told at a bad time by someone that might not be on his side, and it could be in a critical situation, too. "Kisho," Komui murmured, and the teenager lifted his head and looked at him. "I don't look forward to telling you this, but I can tell that you're one of the few in The Order that doesn't know right now. Shiori even doesn't know, and she's encountered and fought Noah before."

"Noah.....? Are Allen and Chaoji fighting the Noah?" Kisho asked uneasily, shifting in the hospital bed.

"No, Chaoji isn't," the Head of The Order replied. "But Allen, in a manner of speaking, is." Komui paused, studying Kisho's look of confusion and unease, before continuing. "I'll let Allen explain the deeper details to you....that is, if he decides to....but right now I can tell you that Allen will soon very likely become a Noah." Kisho opened his mouth, as if to yell 'What?!' but nothing came out. A few seconds later he closed his mouth and looked at his hands, where the Innocence fragment was glowing softly. "Right now, he's Allen, but a Noah's memories are inside of him and those are going to cause him to turn into a Noah....the Fourteenth Noah, to be exact. There were originally fourteen Noah before, but the Millennium Earl got rid of one, although his memories survived."

"So, all the times Allen started talking like he wouldn't be around...this was why....?" Kisho said hoarsely. "I thought he was actually sick....but there's no way he would explain something like this to me."

Komui raised both his eyebrows. "I think I realize what idea you might have had.....that you could somehow get rid of the Noah's memories by using the Heart. I don't know if that would have worked as well as you might have thought. Noah are made up of Dark Matter—it's their power—and Innocence is made up of Light Matter. In contrast the exorcists use Light Matter. Dark Matter can destroy Innocence, and vice versa. If you had somehow tried to use the fragment of Innocence to get rid of the Noah's memories, you could have wound up severely injuring Allen....or even killing him." Kisho could barely make himself look into Komui's eyes; he felt too ashamed and stunned.

"Why did I hear....why did I feel like that was what I could do, then?" Kisho covered his face with his hands, forgetting the Innocence was in them. "What if Lavi was right, and I should just have....?" Without warning a bright flash of green emitted from between Kisho's hands and the teenager gave a startled yell of pain. Kisho quickly removed his hands from his face and pressed his right hand to his forehead, and it felt like he'd been burned there. Komui leaned closer quickly, pulled Kisho's hand away from his forehead and studied the area; there was a pink mark that indicated a minor burn. The Innocence rested in his palm and was still glowing normally, like it had been during their conversation. "What in the....heh, maybe it's mad at me?" Rubbing his head a final time Kisho sighed. "So if I'd tried to use it to help him, I might have done something to make Allen worse? Or even kill him?"

"....That's....a possibility. Dark Matter and Innocence are opposites. I know that wouldn't have been your intention, but it could have had the opposite effect of what you intended. And it was dangerous to try and think of doing something like that without explaining any of it to me first." Komui rubbed his head. "You could have talked to anyone else about what you were thinking, too. Besides putting Allen in danger, you could have put yourself in a bad position, as well." Kisho gulped, then took a deep breath.

"I couldn't have." Komui glanced up sharply. "I guess I was stupid, letting my ego get the better of me. I thought—because of this—that I could fix it on my own and didn't think anyone else knew." Kisho didn't say that it was because Allen told him not to tell anyone; that would just make things worse, and it would make him sound like he was trying to put the blame on Allen. "But of course _someone_ would know; I've only been here for a few months." Sighing again, Kisho closed his eyes, then opened them a moment later. "I want to go talk to Hevlaska when I get back. Ask her if there's some way."

"You don't think we haven't?" Komui snapped, then looked away and took a breath as Kisho jumped, startled. "You may if you feel like it, but I don't know what she could tell you that she hasn't told us already." Komui stood slowly and turned, then headed towards the door to the hospital room. "And that voice could have been anything. A hallucination, a trick, anything. If you hear it again, come to me immediately. Understand?"

"....Yes," Kisho replied, lowering his head, still ashamed.

"And I don't believe it means you're going crazy, but even so, don't trust it anymore. Ignore it and come tell me if you hear it again," Komui reminded Kisho sharply, then in a quieter tone, said, "Get some rest. I'll come check on you later and bring you something to eat," Komui told the teenager with a sigh.

"I'm....sorry," Kisho said, bowing his head and even leaning forward a little, "I....don't know what I was thinking....I wasn't. I just acted, somehow....and I wasn't trying to undermine you guys or anything. I might have done too much for someone like me. I didn't get what was going on. But still, I just wanted to try and do something. I felt like it was the right thing to do. I wasn't smart or anything—I didn't even come up with the idea; the thought that the Innocence would help was just there after I came back to my senses. It's not anymore though."

Komui listened, but didn't stop to say anything after Kisho finished talking. He left the room and closed the door quietly. Kisho sat in the hospital bed for a minute, feeling ashamed and guilty, but the words in his head still hadn't left him. Hevlaska, with luck, could tell Kisho if he was right or just crazy. Sighing deeply, Kisho slipped the Innocence fragment into the pouch near his pocket, got back under the covers and fell asleep.

**Author's Note: Come up with ideas, and then think up more ideas to disprove them, but keep them in mind nevertheless!....Or so I feel, anyway. I'm trying to make things more realistic in the story since not everyone (or anyone) would go for Kisho's idea, especially since he's a novice.**

**Kisho: Do you hate me or something?**

**Me: No! I'm just excited I came up with a theory about the Heart like this. I wasn't sure I was that original...I hope it's original. I don't want to get arrested for plagiarizing.**

**Kisho: Oh, really? Well, good for you. -.-* And stop talking about getting arrested. **

**Me: Before I forget, Kisho's uniform is kind of like Lavi's...the silver and black color scheme, and it has pockets and buttoned pouches halfway down the leg. Kisho also has recently switched from brown fingerless gloves to pink. Just so there can be a better mental picture.**

**Kisho: ****They're not pink!**


	20. Silence

** Me: Guess what!**

** Shiori: (Uh, what?)**

** Me: My family has a new dog! His name's Lucky and he's a golden retriever-type dog and he's insanely hyper.**

** Kisho: And he likes your room because it's the dirtiest ;)**

** Me: Be quiet....but you're right. Lucky crawled under my bed so he could chew on the tissues that were under it. And either he or the cat Harry knocked over my wastebasket for the same reason...except if it was Harry, it's so he could get the plastic. Our animals have cute little interests.**

** Allen: Why don't you clean up your room?**

** Me: It's a process! O///O Well, okay, I'll just get on with it and do the disclaimer that I am not sure when I actually started doing. D. Gray Man, its characters, places, names, uniforms, and such do not belong to me. They belong to Natsumi Hoshino. I mean Katsura Hoshino. But Natsumi is the author of an adorable manga about cats that I now love because it's cute and incredibly hilarious (cats are really fun, let me just say!). Enjoy the next chapter! I've been writing a lot; I'm four chapters shy of reaching the thirty chapter mark. =D**

Chapter Eighteen – Silence

"Stop pacing, Shady. You'll wear a hole in the floor," Lavi finally said, looking up from his book with an irritated expression, having trouble reading while Shiori was shuffling back and forth in front of him. Leaning forward in the wooden chair he was sitting in, Lavi flicked one of the wolf's ears, none too gently and Shiori looked up at him. "You've been away from him longer than a few weeks, haven't you? You can handle this." Lavi looked back down at the book he'd been reading. "Besides, Komui just called. They're all on their way back now and it'll just be a while longer." Shiori curled up, rested her head on her paws, and sighed. Chaoji, Kanda, Krory, Camille—the Finder for Kanda and Krory's mission—Komui, and Kisho had been away for almost three and a half weeks. Kisho had stayed in Karlsgrad while he recovered from his injuries, Komui had stayed with him, and by the time he'd gotten well enough to travel Kanda, Krory, and Chaoji had finally defeated all the Akuma that had shown up in Madrid.

But Allen still hadn't been found yet. It had just taken three days for the large group of Akuma to be killed. After Chaoji and Allen had been ambushed, they'd fought as many Akuma as they could manage, then fled when they'd been outnumbered in order to get a chance to recuperate. Kanda and Chaoji had finished their mission and had been sent by Komui to provide backup. Then, it had taken one day to find the Innocence, and the rest of the time they'd stayed in Madrid looking for Allen but Komui had, with difficulty, called off the search. It was imperative that they got the Innocence back to The Order where Hevlaska could keep it safe. The withdrawal from Madrid didn't mean he was giving up on finding Allen, but he'd decided it was too risky for the three exorcists to stay there anymore—plus, even after resting a while, Krory, Kanda, and Chaoji were still exhausted from all the fighting and searching they'd done. More search parties could be organized and sent out later.

_It's only been a few weeks and so much has happened. Allen's still missing, Kisho's basically not an exorcist anymore, you, Emile, and Kisho might have found the Heart, or a piece of it, and...._

"Shady....just take a deep breath...and calm down. We'll probably get called to go look for Allen sometime, since Kanda, Krory, and Chaoji are dead on their feet. And as for Kikun, well, I bet Komui and Hevlaska can create a new weapon for him. Or he'll just have to be a Finder. He's already got a head start on that, anyway."

_Well...._ Shiori said, bristling, _I'm just worried. But I was kind of being selfish...I mean, Lenalee's been hit the hardest....hasn't she?_ After a pause, Shiori sighed and thought to Lavi, _She begged me to ask Kisho to try and bring him back. But it probably wouldn't have worked, since one, I'd have to be with Allen so Kisho could use my Innocence's power, and two..._

"...Since Allen's location is unknown." Lavi finished for her with a sigh, recalling how Lenalee had refused to talk to anyone for a few days when she'd been told that.....and she still wasn't talking to Shiori.

_Right. But he tried, I know he did. He told me he'd tried to after just thinking about Allen but he said it didn't work. Even if his Anti-Akuma Weapon broke, I think we're still connected by our Innocence, and I think as long as we both have our Innocence, the connection will probably still be there._

"I just went to see her, and she's not doing so good...she's still sleeping and eating like normal, but if we never find him or hear bad news like..." Lavi didn't bother to finish his sentence "....then that could change. Let's hope Komui coming back cheers her up."

_Lenalee's mad at me now....but when you talk to her she cheers up, Lavi_, Shiori commented, at first unhappily, but then more cheerfully as she finished her sentence.

Lavi looked embarrassed, and his face turned a little red, but he quickly laughed, "What's with you saying stuff like that? Besides, I think she's just upset at the whole situation—not necessarily you—and I bet that'll pass once we get everything squared away. She loves dogs, so I doubt she'll stay mad at you forever." Shiori tilted her head.

_I'm not a dog. I'm a wolf....errr....human....whatever! You know what I mean, _Shiori thought, momentarily confused about what her species was, which seemed to amuse Lavi.

"I never thought anyone could forget what they were born as." Shiori growled. "Fine, _wolves_, then. She likes _wolves_," Lavi said with exaggerated emphasis as he rolled his eyes. Suddenly he gave a mischievous smirk. "Or mutts, more accurately." Shiori snapped at Lavi's shoe but he lifted it quickly, then set it back down, but moved it again as she attempted to bite it a second time. Lavi accidentally set his foot down on Shiori's tail and she yelped, then jumped up angrily and growled. "It was an accident! Don't get mad! I'm sorry, okay?!" Lavi hastily apologized but a growl rumbled from Shiori's chest again. Lavi froze, then jumped over her and took off. "You're in a bad mood, aren't you, Shady!" Lavi laughed as he ran, then looked over his shoulder and stuck his tongue out at Shiori. "Do you need a nap?" He ran faster when he saw Shiori was catching up with him; the advantage of having four legs, he realized, but wasn't too worried. He'd gotten to know her better since she'd come, which meant he had also figured out what her weakness was, and there was no way he wouldn't use it now. He'd done it before, and it had worked brilliantly. He felt a little bad about doing it, but, well...not that bad. It was mostly hilarious.

Coming to a sudden stop Lavi turned sharply, reached inside his pants pocket, and got a small handful of something. Once Shiori had almost reached him he threw the handful of uncooked brown rice, and this particular kind was round instead of the normal kind, at Shiori and yelled in a fake panicked voice, "Fleas!" The effect was instantaneous; once the rice showered down around the wolf, she dug her paws into the floor, pinned her ears and gave a pitiful whine and backed off. When she saw some brown grains on her fur she gave a piercing yelp and shook herself, then immediately began scratching like crazy. Due to her desperate efforts to get the 'fleas' off she hardly noticed Lavi bent in half while he laughed hysterically.

_What are you doing?! Help me get rid of them!_

Between laughing and gasping for breath, Lavi wheezed, "Y-you...think I want to get them too?"

_Help me get them off, I'm begging you! You don't know what it was like....my skin itched constantly, my hair fell out, I got infections, and those little __monsters __took forever to go away even WITH treatment! LAVI!_ Shiori let out a wailing howl and the redhead clapped his hands over his ears until she stopped.

"Alright, I'll get them off," he exclaimed, waving his hands in a placating manner as he approached the wolf and started brushing her off. "It's just rice, anyway, jeez. You've eaten it before, haven't you?"

_Wh....wha....? Y-you....it was just a....another trick? _Shiori whined disbelievingly, then growled loudly but pricked her ears and stopped when she heard a sound coming from nearby. Turning, she saw Lenalee standing there, looking slightly amused and annoyed at the same time, and she'd apparently just cleared her throat and was waiting for one of them to say something. _Lenalee? How, um, how are you doing?_

"Me? I'm doing fine. I was just going to see if everyone was back yet," Lenalee explained, then walked quickly past, her arms swinging stiffly, and it didn't take a genius at observing body language to tell that she was still upset. Shiori and Lavi looked at each other. Lavi sighed and nodded towards Lenalee and they both began walking after her.

_Hey, Lenalee....I bet Allen's fine! He can take care of himself, right? And besides, he's probably just trying to get back here, you know? He and Chaoji got separated during the attack; considering how many Akuma there were, that makes sense, but I bet he'll come back here on his own sometime! In the meantime we can go look for him, though, so he'll know we're trying to find him._ A heavy sigh came from Lenalee, causing Lavi and Shiori to tense slightly. Lavi gave the wolf a look that said she maybe shouldn't have gone that far, but unexpectedly Lenalee gave a small, sad smile and nodded once.

"....I know. And I know everyone's been trying to make me feel better....I still just can't help worrying. I think what bad things could happen instead of good....I can't help it."

_I understand how that feels. You can't help it. I worried like that about Kisho all the time after I left. _Shiori paused for a moment, then continued. _I thought that everyone in my home town had been killed when Akuma destroyed it, but when I heard that Cloud Nyne had rescued someone from there, I hoped like crazy it was Kisho but I knew he could have died with everyone else. I didn't know for sure it was him until he actually showed up here, and when he did, I was so happy and relieved. _Lenalee flinched and Lavi held a hand to his head, and Shiori looked startled and quickly thought, _I don't mean that Allen's...I mean, no...! He's definitely okay. __Oh, hell...__I didn't want it to come out like that._

"Don't worry...I know what you meant. But...that's the thought that keeps coming into my head, too....no matter how much I try to keep it away." Shiori lowered her ears and Lavi clenched his teeth. "Just promise me that—" Lenalee began, but as they turned a corner in the hall, Shiori and Lenalee had to quickly jump out of the way as someone stalked past.

"Yuu!"

"Shut up, stupid rabbit. I don't have the energy to deal with any of you now." Lavi didn't laugh and continue to pester Kanda like he usually would, and didn't say anything until he was out of earshot.

"That mission put them through the wringer. None of them have fully recovered yet, not even Kanda, and he's usually the first to recover."

_Really? So I guess he just...._ Shiori's ears perked up suddenly and she dashed off down the hall, leaving Lenalee and Lavi to pursue after giving each other startled glances.

"What is it, Shady?"

_I heard Kisho, Krory, Chaoji, and probably Camille. They came in right after Kanda._

"Ah, gotcha. Thought you'd been bitten by a tick or something," Lavi said seriously but had a grin on his face. Shiori snorted and kept running along the hallway until she collided with someone else and got pushed back a few feet, shook herself, and looked at who she'd run into. Kisho was standing in front of Chaoji and Krory, with Camille and Krory walking up behind them. Lenalee let out a happy exclamation and ran towards Komui, opening her arms to hug him. He hugged her back and smiled.

"I'm sorry I took so long to come back," he said quietly, then stepped back and thought again that he was glad to be back.

"Welcome back. I missed you," Lenalee said with a smile, then turned her head to watch the others greeting each other.

Kisho's startled expression had changed into a joyful one when he'd seen who he had bumped into. "We're back!" He exclaimed excitedly, then moved forward and threw his arms around her neck in a tight hug. "It feels like forever since we've been back. It was weird not being around you guys." He drew back and peered at Shiori with a puzzled expression, then he brushed Shiori's fur off and said, "Did you get caught in a rice blizzard or something?"

_Something like that....._ Shiori replied with a sharp glance up at Lavi.

"Aww, jeez, Kikun. Do you have to say embarrassing stuff like that?" Lavi groaned in response to Kisho's comment about missing them, then hooked an arm around Kisho's neck while giving him a noogie like he'd done a few times before.

"Let me go!" Kisho spat, struggling against the choke-hold, and Lavi released him with a chuckle.

"But it's good to see you too. Are you feeling better now? I told these guys about the mission and they were pretty worried." Kisho rubbed his neck where Lavi had grabbed it and nodded once.

"Yeah, fine," Kisho replied uneasily, wondering exactly how much Lavi had told them...like about how he'd gone into a trance for some reason, and found the Innocence during it.

"But you, along with Krory, Chaoji, and Camille," Komui said sternly, "should get some more rest for at least a few more days so you can heal completely. You still need some time off. And Kisho, tell me if you start feeling worse. If you get sick, then it could be bad, with your injuries." Shiori looked from Komui to Kisho and widened her eyes, worried.

_You're sick? What happened?_

Kisho coughed slightly and the surrounding crowd inched away slightly. "Well, I was around some little kids, and apparently they all had a cold. They seemed healthy enough to me...."

"What were you doing around kids? Weren't you resting in the hospital?" Krory asked, a hint of an amused smile on his face. Kisho didn't seem like a kid person, and he seemed like he didn't know how to be a good babysitter, so kids probably wouldn't have a hard time making him do what they wanted....and when the fourteen-year-old began explaining Krory knew his hunch had been right.

"Well, I was bored and Komui said it was okay if I went out for a walk if I wanted, and I did, since sitting in bed all day isn't that fun. When I was outside there were some kids playing, and I walked past them, and before I knew it they'd dragged me into whatever they were playing. Some of them were sneezing a lot but it's still warm, I thought they just had allergies." Silence reigned for a few seconds, and Kisho rubbed his head, looking uncomfortable.

"If you really are getting sick, don't get too close to me until you're completely better," Lavi said casually, still keeping his distance.

"That would be appreciated," Chaoji added with a nod, and murmurs of agreement followed. Kisho's eyes narrowed and he cast annoyed glares around him.

"Fine, then, when you guys are sick don't expect me to do you any favors."

"Oh, no," Lavi said sarcastically. "You've already done me a favor—reminded me that staying around sick kids isn't a good idea. Is the purpose of your life to serve as a warning to others?" Everyone laughed, and Kisho gave the redhead a livid glare before moving forward, fist raised to punch Lavi, who just put a hand on Kisho's head and effortlessly held him back. Kisho heard everyone laughing harder while he struggled in vain to try and wrench Lavi's hand off of him.

"Well, let's calm down for a moment, shall we?" Komui said after he finished laughing, and when everyone looked at him, he suddenly became serious. "This is important, so listen closely. I'll be sending exorcists out on missions like normal, but in addition to that, I'll also be sending out exorcists to Madrid in order to search for any clues as to Allen's whereabouts. I'm sure we'll be especially busy because of that, so I want you all to get rest right away so you'll be ready to go when I call on you. Understand?" The exorcists and Camille nodded somberly, the traces of laughter gone from their faces. "You won't be going out right away, but in case a state of emergency is declared, I want you to be prepared in case you have to. If, by chance, you need to go out and recover Allen's Innocence, any exorcist may be chosen to go no matter what the circumstances."

Komui fell silent suddenly and Lenalee touched her brother's shoulder with a worried expression on her face, and it remained even when he began speaking again. Turning his attention towards Kisho, he said tightly, "You won't be going on missions for a while, however. Not until I can figure out what happened to you during the mission and why. And the fact that you acted on your own, even unconsciously, during the mission needs to be taken into account as well. It could be dangerous if that happens again during another mission, because you would be vulnerable even if Lavi reported that you could still activate your Innocence and fight." Shiori's dark brown eyes widened and she flashed an alarmed glance towards Kisho, while Lenalee looked similarly startled, while Chaoji and Krory looked surprised and puzzled, but Lavi's expression was stony, as if he'd expected Komui to say what he'd said.

Kisho, meanwhile, was standing calmly but anyone would have been able to see that what Komui had announced was bothering him; his face had darkened somewhat and his fists were clenched tightly. Shiori lowered her ears and stepped forward slowly, then nudged Kisho's hand. He briefly glanced down at her and put a hand on her shoulder. Meeting Komui's gaze again, despite his reactions, he asked steadily, "How long will I not be able to go on missions?" Komui shook his head and gave a short sigh.

"I can't say at the moment. It could be anywhere from a few months to indefinitely," Shiori's ears shot up and Lavi looked uncomfortable, "or at least until I can figure out what happened. I'm going to start with taking you to Hevlaska so she can check your Innocence. Chaoji, Krory, Lavi, get some rest. All of you, again, be sure you're prepared to leave for a mission at a moment's notice." The exorcists nodded solemnly in unison. Kisho and Komui began to walk off for Hevlaska's chamber, but Lenalee's eyes suddenly narrowed and she rushed after them. Reaching out quickly she grabbed Kisho's arm and stopped him from moving any further.

"Wait. I have something to ask you," she said in a tone that made Kisho flinch and reluctantly turn to meet her gaze that hinted she would soon get angry about something.

"....What is it?" Kisho asked after a pause, and braced himself a second before Lenalee raised her hand and slapped him across the face.

* * *

**Me: Hmm.**

** Allen: You lose again.**

** Lavi: Aw, %#!**

** Me: Oh yeah! **

** Lavi: You're happy I lost?**

** Me: Oh, I wasn't really paying attention. I was just checking my book order and it's on the way! I'm getting a new Japanese comic and a D. Gray Man Reverse Japanese novel. So what are you playing? Alaska? **

** Allen: No, Poker. Want to play? (Evil grin)**

** Me: No thanks, but I'd be happy to play Alaska. I feel comfortable with my Alaska playing skills.**

** Allen: Alaska....**

** Me: Yeah but we can play it anywhere. The rules are you have to lay a higher card than...**

** Lavi: Can you play anything else?**

** Me: I can play Speed...sort of. But don't get me started on Hearts.**

** Allen: Want to play Hearts?**

** Me: No. Alright, well, hope everyone enjoyed the chapter! I'm getting closer to the parts when a lot of cool stuff will happen!**

** Allen: Fine, let's play this Alaska. Tell us the rules, but even if I haven't played before, you better get ready to lose.**

** Me: Oh, you wish. My sister taught me to play and she's good.**

** Allen: Welllll, let's start playing, then. (Grins evilly)**


	21. Blame

**Me: ****現在我給****....**

**Lavi: Whoa. In English or else change the language category!**

**Me: My bad, sorry. Hey, how'd you know that?**

**Lavi: ....How I....uh....know is beside the point!**

**Me: Okay.....well, as I was saying, now I give you Chapter Nineteen! Kinda nervous about it because some bits might seem a little weird. They might just be weird because I made up my own ideas about what's going on. Anyway, enjoy, and Happy Thanksgiving to those that celebrate it and Happy Late Thanksgiving to any Canadian citizens out there who celebrate it (err I guess Happy Really Late Thanksgiving, it was October 12) ^^  
I don't own D. Gray Man, the characters, names or anything else.**

* * *

Chapter Nineteen - Blame

"What do you think you were doing?!" She yelled harshly, and Kisho, left hand holding the spot where he'd been struck, looked awkwardly at the floor. "Look at me!" The female exorcist cried, and reached out again to grab his face and tilt his head upwards so he had to look at her. "I wanted to know what happened so I asked Lavi and he told me what you did. Why did you have to do things on your own?"

"I...didn't plan it.....I don't even remember it," Kisho protested, but it just seemed to make Lenalee angrier.

"That's not what I mean! _Before_ that! Lavi said you were saying something about knowing that Allen needed help, and that you were trying to do something about it without even talking to any of us! Did you really think we didn't know he needed help when we'd been around him for years, and you, only months? You thought you were doing something good and selfless, didn't you? Thought you were helping us by not involving us?" Wide-eyed, Kisho stared at Lenalee's angry, tearful glare and couldn't think of any good reason to give.

"....I don't...know what I thought....."

"You thought you could handle it? What do you think we're here for?! We're your partners! You hear a strange voice and listen to it instead of us! We're all exorcists but you kept the fact that you were going to try and do something to help him? You could have hurt him or worse, killed him!" A rush of alarm made Kisho open his mouth to protest and say that he'd seen Allen collapse earlier and had decided to do whatever he could to help—but even if everyone knew what was going on with Allen, Kisho bit his tongue and realized something was keeping him from telling them what he'd seen.

"What made you want to do this? And it doesn't matter even if you didn't want to hurt him—you could have done it anyway and even if your intentions had been good your actions would have caused something that couldn't have been reversed! I don't know why you didn't ask any of us for help!" Kisho ground his teeth and looked down. He probably could tell them what Allen had told him now, since he had finally realized the cat had come out of the bag a long time ago. But his throat had closed up and he didn't say anything. "You're a nice person but none of that can make up for this! You're worse than an enemy if you won't cooperate with your friends!" Lenalee brought her hand down across Kisho's face once more, and he cringed away from Lenalee as she raised her hand again, but Lavi suddenly moved forward quickly and lightly closed his hand around Lenalee's right wrist, using enough force to hold her arm still but not enough to hurt her.

"Lenalee, that's enough," he said in a quiet, but severe tone, his expression tense. "Komui already told him the same thing. He almost screwed up, but he knows that by now. I think we should just start to let it go. No one got hurt, alright, and we're definitely going to bring Allen back safe. Understand?" Trying uselessly to blink away tears, Lenalee lowered her arm slowly and Lavi released his grip on her wrist. Komui cleared his throat softly and, still looking taken aback, the teenager stepped back from Lenalee. Trying not to meet her gaze, he turned and walked with Komui down a nearby flight of stairs. Neither person said anything for a few minutes as they descended the stairwell, and soon the light that had flooded the hallways above soon became too far away to light the area they were in. Kisho felt something move in the pouch near his pants pocket and reached inside it, then pulled out his Innocence fragment. It was shining bright green and emitted enough light to see by.

"Not that...it'll do much good now, but....I'm sorry." Even though Kisho realized his apology probably sounded pathetic, he still felt like he had to....maybe because he knew from both hearing exorcists talk about it, and witnessing Komui's sister complex for himself that Komui was probably going to be really upset with him. Kisho had never seen Lenalee—or anyone, for that matter—so distressed. He waited for Komui to say something, but although the man's face had a shadow over it, to Kisho's relief he sounded calm enough when he spoke next.

"In retrospect," Komui said, "things could have gone a lot worse...but next time they might....that's why I made that decision....for everyone's safety—not because I was punishing you." _Though there are those who might have, had they been here._

"I think I get why you banned me from going on missions....even if everything goes well...unexpected things could still happen." Komui looked surprised for a moment, then nodded.

"Yes....you three were lucky that time—only one Akuma showed up, and thankfully it wasn't a Level Four. But if more had, or if a Noah had, then you would have been an easy target even if you could still fight." Kisho looked away and sighed, lowering his head slightly.

"Yeah...." he agreed, sighing, then saw that they had reached Hevlaska's room.

"Hevlaska!" Komui called into the darkness, and soon a white glowing light appeared as Hevlaska's snakelike body rose up from the depths of the large chamber.

_"Komui....and Kisho," _the Innocence Keeper acknowledged them with a dip of her head.

"I have a favor to ask, Hevlaska. I'd like you to check his Innocence fragment." Kisho held up the Innocence fragment in his palms and Hevlaska lowered her head to where she could touch it and also send tendrils out across Kisho's body. "And could you tell us about the fragment they found earlier?"

_"Yes....I analyzed it, and its signature is different from normal Innocence. It has a powerful aura and the highest energy level for any mere fragment of Innocence. Its appearance, as you know, is also different. Even a fragment of the Heart would have extremely high power."_

"So it is, then?" Kisho exclaimed, eyes wide. "But that would mean the Heart had broken somehow, right? Wouldn't that mean it had been destroyed, though?"

_"We all thought that's what would happen if the Heart was broken, but maybe somehow the Heart knew it was in danger of being destroyed and broke itself into fragments to protect itself. That is part of the memory I saw from that fragment. Someone could have found it with intent to destroy it, though I cannot say when."_

"The Earl, or the Noah Clan?" Komui asked sharply and Hevlaska nodded once.

_"It's very likely that is what happened."_

"Innocence has a memory?" Kisho asked curiously.

"Innocence are sentient; Parasite-types can at times protect their Accommodator, and it's now believed that even Equip-types can do the same thing. In fact, Lenalee's did just that for her. It formed a crystal barrier around her body when she was in danger. We think hers might be a new type of Innocence."

_"Kisho,"_ Hevlaska said, causing Komui and Kisho's attention to change back to her, _"listen carefully to me."_ The Innocence fragment in Kisho's palms began to float into the air, and a dim pink light began rising up from below until it was hovering in the air next to the green Innocence fragment. _"You are no longer the Accommodator for your Innocence."_ Komui let out a vehement exclamation while Kisho blinked, having not comprehended it right away.

"It hasn't rejected him, has it, Hevlaska? He isn't a Fallen One?" Kisho looked frantically from Hevlaska to Komui.

"F-Fallen One? I heard about Fallen Ones from Cloud Nyne...she said they're exorcists who were rejected by their Innocence...and they get destroyed by it....i-is that going to happen to me because I lied to my...."

_"No, it is not. Do not be worried. You are no longer an exorcist, but your Innocence hasn't rejected you. You still need to have it with you, but not for the purpose of fighting." _The two Innocence fragments that were hovering in the air suddenly moved towards each other and merged, and the light from both of them slowly morphed to white. Feeling suddenly nervous, Kisho stepped back, but was alarmed to find that he couldn't move an inch. As if she was testing his Synchronization rate, the Innocence Keeper had wrapped glowing tendrils all around him and was lifting him into the air.

"Hevlaska! What are you doing? " Komui yelled from below, and Kisho's stomach jumped to his throat when he looked down and saw that Komui's form was barely recognizable from his current height.

_"Kisho isn't an exorcist anymore, but he is a holder for this Innocence—part of the Heart and a normal Innocence combined. Its power would be too strong for a person to handle on its own, but it is still too vulnerable in that state. Two Innocence fragments joined make it unable to be destroyed." _Hevlaska touched her forehead to the glowing white Innocence and began pushing it towards him. _"Until you find Allen it will protect you. There is still time to find him and help him. You will still need help, so, like Lenalee said, let your friends in." _The newly formed Innocence fragment unexpectedly moved towards Kisho and disappeared over the spot right where his heart was. His body suddenly felt strangely light and his ears were ringing sharply, like they had been during the recent mission. Then a flash of heat swept through him and immediately after a burning sensation broke out all over his body, as if scalding water had just been dumped over him. It was so sudden and painful that he couldn't breathe, and his body soon began to panic from lack of air. Kisho tried desperately to gasp in air but he seemed to be paralyzed and couldn't manage it, and began to struggle frantically in Hevlaska's grasp. Just when he felt like the lack of oxygen would make him pass out, Kisho was suddenly able to take a breath again, and the burning sensation slowly became a cold tingling that soon went away as well. The blackness that had been creeping up in Kisho's vision faded and he saw sparkles in his eyes and felt faint for a few moments.

"Wh....what ju...just happened to me?" Kisho gasped between breaths, gazing wearily but warily up at Hevlaska.

_"You're the holder for this Innocence now—an Innocence Keeper, like I am, but only until you can get it to Allen."_ Hevlaska lowered Kisho back to the platform where Komui was standing and gently set him down; the head of The Black Order steadied Kisho as he wobbled dizzily on his feet, still lightheaded from the strange experience.

"What do you expect him to do with it? It couldn't get rid of the Noah's memories without destroying Allen too....or are you saying that's possible?"

_"It is. As I said, if Kisho had just used the fragment of the Heart to dispel the Noah's memories, the power would have been too great and Allen would not have come out of it unharmed. But mixing its power with a normal fragment would dilute its powers just enough to both make it unbreakable and cause it to change into a more stable form."_

Holding his head Kisho shook it back and forth a few times, feeling a little dizzy and sick to his stomach. "I don't really get it....I want to get it to him, but I won't be able to for a while." A strange, slight burning sensation had settled in the area around Kisho's chest, as if he'd gotten heartburn. He hoped that it was just because he wasn't used to having an Innocence fragment inside his body....and that it wasn't eating a hole through him.

"It seems you won't be going on any more missions as an exorcist, Kisho...but you could be a Finder." Kisho looked up at Komui with a guarded expression.

"A Finder? I don't remember any of what I did. And what if I can only find Heart fragments, instead of both Heart and normal Innocence fragments? It is more important to find those, probably, but still..."

"That's just another reason for you to try to control this, so you can turn it into an ability you can use to find both," Komui said, chewing on his thumbnail as he thought carefully.

_"The reason you went into that trance is because the Innocence fragment was calling to you, but its power was too strong so it ended up taking over your mind and body."_

"So I have to get strong enough to stand the power so I don't turn into a zombie again...and I have to learn how to find Innocence. But I don't know how...how do the other Finders do it, anyway?"

"They usually have clues, like Akuma suddenly gathering en masse near an area, or some anomaly or legend that suddenly shows up. A mission Allen and Kanda went on was in a town where people believed a ghost resided—but the 'ghost' ended up being a doll that an Innocence fragment had caused to come to life. When Allen and Lenalee went to a town in Germany, the Finder there had learned of a strange occurrence where a town seemed to be living the same day over and over. It was because of an Innocence fragment that had the ability to control time—Miranda's Time Record, in other words. Finders stay in countries for months at a time in some situations, gathering information about anything odd that may be going on. We've learned that most of the time an Innocence will be behind any strange happenings."

"So they can't just sense them," Kisho said, frustrated, and Komui shook his head.

"No—at least, not that any that I've known," the Chinese man replied, then looked intently up at Hevlaska, who moved so that her head was just a few feet away from Komui and Kisho.

_"All Innocence have a signature—a presence, or a sound. Normally the sound is too faint to be detected or is heard but ignored immediately afterward by most people. I think that, if you practice, you will be able to find Innocence fragments by working on listening for them. Not just with your ears, however.__ And sometimes just listening won't work. Each Innocence signature is different, so their sound might be different as well. Thinking about who the exorcist is and what they are like is probably necessary to be able to hear and sense the Innocence fragment they possess.__"_

"In the long run that might be the best way to develop this ability, because it might be harder to find an Innocence that is already being used as an Anti-Akuma Weapon."

"Starting big, huh," Kisho said, grinning sourly. "So walk around with a blindfold until I can figure out who's coming?" Komui bit back a laugh.

"You could do that, or...." he trailed off, thinking hard for a few moments. "....like Hevlaska said, try to figure out each Innocence's sound and signature." Kisho nodded slowly, not seeing how that would really work, but suddenly he remembered something.

"Its sound.....before—before I went into that trance thing, I heard a ringing noise all day, like there was water in my ears. That Innocence maybe had a really annoying sound because it was trying to get someone to find it." Komui looked thoughtful, then cleared his throat.

"That could be. But I think you should get some rest now and try to do this later. Even with all your strength I assume it'll be difficult." Kisho looked slightly hesitant, as if he just wanted to figure everything out as soon as possible, but nodded after a moment and followed Komui up the stairs after telling Hevlaska goodbye.

* * *

Gray-blue eyes lifted open slowly, and immediately closed again when their owner felt pain from his injuries shooting through his body once again. Staying still for a few seconds helped it lessen slightly, and a moment later, Allen tried opening his eyes again. Darkness was all around him so it was hard to tell where he was, but the ground beneath him was cold, and hard. Wincing and hissing sharply as his stiff and aching body protested to Allen's attempt to sit up, the exorcist put out a hand, reached out, and felt it touch a cold wall. Lifting his head towards the sky, he saw that it was clear and speckled with bright stars. A few hours ago, Allen had beaten the last of the Akuma that had been chasing him, and only allowed himself to stagger over to an empty alleyway and pass out because his eye had finally calmed down and reverted to normal. Over the course of a few weeks Akuma had attacked him and pursued him almost constantly....aside from the fact that they were probably after his Innocence, it was as if they'd been ordered to follow him. But they were all gone now, and recently another weight had been lifted from his shoulders.

Allen hadn't known what had become of Chaoji, but when Allen had destroyed the last Akuma, Timcampy had flown off somewhere. Ten minutes after Allen had collapsed in the alleyway, and the golden Golem had shown him an image of Chaoji, Kanda, and Krory finishing off a few Akuma. Weak from relief and his injuries, Allen had passed out and woken up a few hours later. Now, as his grogginess began to leave, Allen felt something heavy on his head, and reached up gingerly to find that Timcampy was curled up in his white hair.

"Komui probably called those guys out for reinforcements, huh....thanks, Komui." The Golem tugged on Allen's gloved right hand urgently, using his sharp teeth to do so, but Allen still didn't move. "They're probably gone by now, Tim...and I don't think I can move." The exorcist's left ankle was badly sprained and had swollen to twice its size during the time Allen had been out. His leg also had a deep cut a foot long, straight up and down his leg, from an Akuma as well. The bleeding had stopped and luckily it didn't seem to be infected, but that could change if he stayed where he was and didn't get medical help. His other injuries ranged from minor cuts from head to toe to more serious ones like his leg and a virus bullet wound on his back. He'd purified the virus but it still felt burned and bruised and hurt like crazy whenever he moved even a little bit. Even though Allen had resolved to let the Noah die along with himself, when he'd been fighting the Akuma he'd fought them the way he always did—fighting to free their souls. In the back of his mind he also knew he didn't want to be killed by them, and it seemed those reasons had become second nature by now.

If he died now, alone, then it would be hard for The Order to recover his Innocence. With Suman, it had been pretty obvious where his location was, although that hadn't made it any easier for Allen to get it back.

"Aaah!" Allen suddenly yelled as Timcampy bit down hard on Allen's left hand, as if he was angry with the exorcist for thinking his death was okay as long as his Innocence was safe. "Wait....are you trying to remind me about what Hevlaska said?" The little Golem nodded furiously, its whole body shaking hard. "And that I should go back to The Black Order?" Again Timcampy's body shook in agreement, and then the Golem flew towards Allen's cheek and nuzzled it until Allen lifted his right hand; Timcampy nestled in Allen's palm and he raised his bleeding left hand and patted the Golem. "I'm scared to do that...they can take me and lock me up—that's not what's bothering me. If I go back then they're all in danger. Knowing that....can I really go back? Even though I want to....." Allen shook his head. "I _really_ want to..." Allen said, then took a deep breath and tossed Timcampy into the air. "Thanks, Timcampy...I changed my mind. They're probably still around here, recovering before they go back....see if you can find them, and try to tell them where I am, alright? If they're not here, go back to The Order. You know the way, right?" Timcampy hissed, and Allen couldn't help laughing. "Sorry, sorry....of course you know, but make sure no Akuma follow you. I'll be able to fight them if more show up, so don't worry." The Golem flew swiftly to Allen and nuzzled him, then shot back into the sky and hovered high above the buildings, gazing down at Allen, who was slumped against the alley wall. "I want to go back....but I can't believe I actually am...is what Hevlaska said true...?"

"If you can't make up your mind, then I can make a decision for you," a voice said, and Allen instinctively leapt to his feet even though he was punished for it when waves of pain shot through his body. Allen activated his Anti-Akuma Weapon and stood awkwardly, putting his weight on his right foot, but was prepared to fight long enough to try and make a break for it. Then he shook his head; with his condition It would be seconds before he was caught. Grimly Allen watched the dark portal that had appeared and even though he was expecting it he still felt a pulse of dread as Road stepped out from its depths and smiled at him.

"Road....did the Earl send me to kill you?" Road gasped, looking shocked and hurt.

"Kill you? How could you think that I'd kill _you_, Allen?" She exclaimed, but Allen just gave her a hard look and Road sighed. "He sent me to talk to you. He has an offer for you, you know." The female Noah began approaching Allen and despite knowing he couldn't escape Road for long, the exorcist began inching backward, desperate to keep as much distance between him and Road as long as possible. "Even if you _are_ the Noah that betrayed us, he's thought about giving you another chance."

"I couldn't have possibly betrayed you because I never was _with_ you in the first place!" Allen shouted angrily, he reached quickly for his left hand, but Road tsk'ed and wagged a finger, then pointed it behind Allen.

"You might want to rethink that, Allen," she said softly, but a hint of warning had entered her tone, and Allen's right hand froze.

"Indeed," a voice from behind Allen said, and rather than have Tykki at his back, Allen turned so that Road was behind him instead. "Fortunate for you that I have orders to not do anything except make sure Road can handle a half-dead exorcist—it's Road's job to take you back to the Earl," Tykki explained calmly, but a smug look in his eyes made anger flare in Allen's chest, "but he never said that I couldn't help her do that. There's something inside your precious Order that we need, you see....and I imagine you know what that something is." With a quick step forward Tykki shot out a hand and, with a firm shove to Allen's chest, he watched the surprised exorcist look over his shoulder in alarm just before he was pushed into a portal Road must have summoned while his attention had been focused on Tykki. Allen's last glimpse of the area outside the portal was Tykki laughing and Road standing with almost a forlorn look on her face as she watched him. A brief flash of gold caught his eye and he realized that Timcampy hadn't left yet but he forced himself not to look up and give him away; Tykki and Road didn't seem to have noticed the Golem. _Go! _Allen willed Timcampy in his mind and prayed that he would leave, find the others, and show them what had happened. Then they'd know that the Noah were trying to get to The Black Order's headquarters. And then it struck Allen.

_They want me to use the Ark to take them to The Order...and then they're going to destroy all the exorcists and Innocence there. _Blackness covered Allen's vision and the only thing he could hear as he fell into the portal was a rushing noise, and his stomach flipped wildly and he hoped he wouldn't be sick, though that was probably the least of his problems. Without warning his fall was stopped when he slammed on his back into something hard; his back seared with pain but he couldn't make a sound to voice his agony because the wind had been momentarily knocked out of him. Allen's sudden arrival was greeted with groans of revulsion and shouts of dismay.

"What are you doing? It's rude to interrupt someone's meal."

"You're getting blood all over the table, idiot!"

"Well, I'm done."

As it became clear who exactly had dropped in on them, the comments suddenly changed.

"They got him, huh....didn't take them as long as I thought."

"Hey, David, you lost, so pay up," Road said, appearing suddenly through the portal, followed closely by Tykki.

"Come on, Road....can't we cancel the bet?" Jasdero griped mutinously. "It was just for fun."

"No takebacks," the girl responded icily, holding out her hand, and reluctantly Jasdero put some money in her hand.

Allen groaned and turned over as he got his breath back but as he tried to get up he found he couldn't move, save for moving his gaze around to see where he was. It seemed he'd fallen onto a large wooden table and his breath caught in his throat when he realized that David, Jasdero, Lulubell, and now Tykki and Road, having just come through the portal after him, were in the room. Almost all of the Noah Clan were here except Skin....which made sense, because Kanda had fought and killed him years earlier.

"Long time no see, Walker," David sneered, giving Allen a dark look, and beside him Jasdero's mouth turned up into an unsettling smile, and Allen's dismay at seeing almost all of the Noah must have been showing on his face, for David said, "If you're that happy to see us, then I bet you'll be ecstatic to see the Millennium Earl."

"Wow....didn't know you knew that word, David," Road snickered, and David turned sharply, glaring at her.

"Shut up," he snapped, but immediately fell silent, as did all the Noah, when a large set of wooden doors suddenly opened, sending a shaft of light into the room from a hallway with chandeliers that had glowing candles set into holders in each of them. Road was the first to move towards the figure that stepped into the room.

"We brought him, like you told us to," she reported carefully, and waited for a response. The figure was lit brightly from behind, and the room Allen was in was currently lit with only a few oil lamps, making it dim and hard to see clearly who the figure was—if you had never seen him before, that is. Allen knew right away who it was even before the large figure stepped closer.

"Well, well....Allen Walker," the Millennium Earl said pleasantly, though Allen wasn't fooled. He glared venomously at the Earl and despite his situation was toying with the idea of attacking the Earl...whether or not he would use his Innocence remained to be seen at this point. He felt like going for the Earl with his bare hands, though he knew attacking him either way—especially the way he was now—would be an exercise in futility. "Good evening."

* * *

**Me: O em geez.**

**Allen: ....You're telling me...and that didn't even make sense.**

**Kisho: (Rubs face) Ow.**

**Lenalee: Sorry....**

**Me: Yeah, so, anyway. Hope everyone's having a good week! :) There will be more chapters soon...I have a bunch...I've been using the break to mostly write and take care of our newest family member, the golden retriever Lucky. It's been great ^^ And when break ends there's only a few more weeks until Christmas! :D**


	22. Enigma

**Serasia: Hello. I guess I felt like this was one way I could do a little memorial for my friend's best friend, Ryleigh, who died recently of leukemia. Ryleigh's sister, who I got to know in eighth grade—she's such a good person to be around—gave her a bone marrow transplant but I guess she was still too weak, and she died. Ryleigh was only fifteen years old, and I wish she hadn't died, but I guess now she's just not in pain anymore. I don't want to just make people upset, but like I said, I felt that this was a way I could make a tribute to Ryleigh. If you have a minute, then please think of her, and her family and friends who are going through a very hard time now. I think that everyone knows how it is to lose someone. I've lost friends and family in the past, but I hope that right now I'll be able to stop crying and be strong enough to help my friends and Ryleigh's friends and family keep going.**

**Goodbye, Ryleigh. You're the best.**

Chapter Twenty – Enigma

Kisho entered the cafeteria warily, acting as if he'd had previously entered and witnessed something he probably shouldn't have seen, then left and re-entered while making a lot of noise. While he was thinking of how to approach Lavi and the others, he tripped over a metal dustbin that was right near the cafeteria entrance and fell right onto his face and wished he could be invisible as the dustbin set up a loud clattering noise. Standing quickly Kisho saw that most of the people in the area were staring at him, some with startled expressions, but most just looked annoyed. Before moving quickly over to see Jerry at the ordering window, Kisho spotted Lavi, Chaoji, Krory, Miranda, and Lenalee sitting together while they ate breakfast.

"What would you like?" Jerry asked when Kisho walked up to him, giving him a friendly smile like he did with every exorcist, even Kanda, that came to get food. Kisho gave a hesitant grin back.

"Um....just miso soup, a goldfish, and a bowl of rice, please," Kisho said while staring over at the table where his friends were sitting. Jerry blinked and gave a confused smile.

"A...goldfish?" Kisho looked at Jerry and nodded.

"Yeah, that'd be....wait....what? Goldfish?" He asked blankly, confused.

"We don't have any goldfish in the kitchen," Jerry said seriously, even though he had a half-smile on his face, "but I can order a goldfish if you really want one." Kisho finally realized what he had said and rubbed his head, laughing.

"Guess I said that...I wasn't paying attention." Someone behind Kisho gave an exasperated sigh and the teenager turned around to see Kanda standing there with an aggravated expression on his face.

"Either order or move, brat. I don't want to wait all day." Quickly Kisho turned and said his order again.

"Miso soup, grilled fish, and rice, please."

"Anything to drink?"

"No, thanks," Kisho replied, and Jerry turned to get the order ready. Kanda snorted and brushed past Kisho impatiently to order, and the fourteen-year-old leaned against the wall while he waited for his order. For want of something to do, Kisho closed his eyes and took a deep breath, trying to forget that he was in a public place. If he could single out one exorcist's Innocence, namely Kanda's since he was the closest, in such a crowded place then he was a lot closer to being able to control this weird new ability he had. First he tried to tune out all the other sounds of conversation around him, and while he did that, Kisho began focusing on the memory of the sound he'd heard on the mission a few weeks ago. It had started out faint, easy to ignore, but as Lavi and he had reached their destination, the ringing noise had escalated to almost a piercing whistle that had been near impossible to tune out. With a jolt, Kisho realized that the sound had probably gotten louder because he'd been getting closer to the Innocence fragment, and it had been calling him. Now, he was trying to hear the same sound from Kanda's Innocence fragment, but the difference and difficulty was that it probably wasn't trying to get his attention.

Kisho recalled that Hevlaska had said that the sound of others' Innocence might be different, and as her words came back to him, another realization unexpectedly came to him—when he had heard the ringing noise, he hadn't been trying to hear it; instead it had just happened. So trying to force himself to hear or sense something wouldn't work, and right now, he wasn't hearing anything. The sounds of conversation and laughter from exorcists and Finders in the cafeteria were flooding back to him, and Kisho opened his eyes with a sigh, then jolted in alarm and yelled as he found Lavi's face a foot away from his. The redhead's expression was curious, and a borderline worried-for-his-sanity look was present as well.

"What do you think you're doing? I was talking to you for ages but you weren't answering." Blinking Kisho shook his head once.

"How long were you talking to me?"

"I was about to hit five minutes, now." Kisho's eyes widened and he felt alarm and embarrassment course through him; Lavi wasn't the only one standing around him. Jerry, Shiori, and Miranda were crowded around him too. Shiori was wagging her tail nervously and was growling and whining at random intervals, while Miranda was gazing at Kisho with a concerned expression. "And Jerry said your food's almost ready. Next time you decide to mediate, do it in private so people don't think you're ignoring them or crazy. It's too late for some, though." Nodding tensely, Kisho turned and headed for the ordering window and took his tray as Jerry appeared and peered closely at him.

"Are you feeling okay? If you're sick, you should stay in bed for a while."

"No, I'm fine....thanks. Sorry to cause trouble." The Black Order cook slid a tray of food towards Kisho and he took it gratefully, but a little apologetically, then turned sharply and started walking towards a table.

"Hey, Kikun," Lavi said as the three of them sat down, and he used Kisho's nickname, which seemed like a good sign that Lavi wasn't annoyed (or if he had been he was over it), "you gonna stay in reality long enough to tell us what happened last night or what?"

"Oh....yeah, sure." Shiori was sitting between Kisho, Lavi, and Lenalee, while Miranda, Krory, and Chaoji sat on the other side of the long table. Uncomfortably, Kisho noticed that they were staring at him with a hint of uncertainty.

"Komui seemed really serious after he left Hevlaska....what happened?" Krory asked, and Lavi nodded, wanting to know the same thing.

"Yeah...is she going to make another Anti-Akuma Weapon for you, or what?" Kisho hesitated, then decided to just say it and let them react how they would. He felt a little better about the situation, even though he wasn't an exorcist now, because even though he wasn't the Accommodator for his Innocence, he at least hadn't gotten that way by betraying his friends. It was just because it didn't belong to him anymore. But he still felt uneasy about the whole thing, which was why he'd been reluctant to go and sit with them, because he knew they'd probably want to know what had gone on—especially Shiori, for she was staring at him with a scrutinizing, worried gaze. Lenalee, although Kisho could tell she was still upset at him, also seemed concerned. Miranda, Chaoji, and Krory were looking at him with curious glances as well.

"Is my brother alright?" Lenalee asked. "Because he didn't finish all his coffee and he was...actually doing some paperwork today." Kisho rubbed his head.

"Um...well....he, you know, has a lot to worry about."

"You gave him a lot to worry about," Lenalee said admonishingly, narrowing her eyes, and the people at the table exchanged nervous glances. "Just tell us what happened."

"I'm not going to get another Anti-Akuma Weapon," Kisho said bluntly in one breath, and saw his friends' expressions become startled.

"What do you mean? Why not?" Chaoji asked incredulously. "You're still an exorcist....Komui just banned you from missions for a while." Kisho looked down and poked at the grilled fish on his tray, then set his chopsticks down and lifted his head.

"I won't get another one because I'm not the Accommodator for my Innocence anymore," Kisho said, and jumped when he heard Lenalee give a strangled gasp.

"Why...? Are you a...did your Innocence....reject you?" Kisho recalled Komui mentioning Fallen Ones and swiftly shook his head, and although that made everyone relax a little, they still seemed uncertain about what to say.

"If your Innocence didn't reject you, then why can't you use it?" Miranda asked anxiously.

"It's just....the Innocence doesn't belong to me anymore. It's for Allen. I'm supposed to take it to him."

"Are you still thinking about that? Didn't we already conclude that wasn't a good idea?" Lavi asked sharply, and Lenalee seemed to have been about to say the same thing, but she'd been beaten to the punch.

"Why do you want to do that? It'll just hurt Allen!" Lenalee cried, distraught, and a few heads from other tables turned. Kisho saw how quickly this had gotten out of hand and wondered if he could explain everything like he needed to.

"Hevlaska told me that I wasn't the Accommodator for my Innocence anymore, and she took the Heart fragment Lavi and me found earlier and combined it with my Innocence fragment. She said that if it had been just the Heart fragment, the power would have been too much to handle, but if it was combined with a normal Innocence, its form would become stable. I guess it's like elements and chemistry, or something."

"Or something!" Lenalee burst out, her voice quivering angrily and Kisho flinched.

"L-look....I don't know why it was me, but I'm more like a Finder now than an exorcist. I can sense Innocence fragments somehow and I'm going to practice to make that ability stronger so I can actually control it. When I do, I'll go on missions again, but I'll be finding Innocence instead of fighting Akuma."

"Where's that Innocence now?" Chaoji asked, trying to work through what Kisho was saying one thing at a time.

"I have it with me—the Innocence is inside me. I'm supposed to keep it safe until I can get it to Allen, and Hevlaska probably thought that would be safer than me just carrying it around in my pocket. I understand why she thought that, but don't ask me to explain how she did it—I'll just get a headache trying to," Kisho explained, trying a little to lighten the mood.

_Everyone....remember that dream I had?_ Shiori's thoughts broke through to Lenalee, Miranda, Lavi, and Kisho, but Chaoji and Krory couldn't hear her so Lavi explained what she'd said and what her dream had been about. _I heard a voice telling me to tell others to...what __did the voice say__....to seek __the Heart__ with the desire to help people, and that it would 'save him, save the exorcists , and everyone in the world'._

"Why didn't you mention this until now?" Lenalee demanded after telling Chaoji and Krory what she'd heard, and Shiori lowered her ears. "Does secret-keeping run in the family with you two?"

_I just remembered the whole thing now....and what I did remember before, I was trying to work out. I could only remember bits of it, and what I would have told you wouldn't have made much sense or been very helpful,_ Shiori thought, but Lenalee didn't say anything.

"So now that we know this, what do we do? Hevlaska said to get the Innocence to Allen, but we don't know where he is," Chaoji said tensely, his expression both uneasy and doubtful, and Lavi sighed irritably and rubbed his forehead.

"First Shiori had her dream-vision thing, then Kisho has a trance-revelation, and now Hevlaska's brought this up. You three seem to be weirdly connected somehow. I'd love to do something about it now, but Chaoji's right—Allen's missing and we have no idea where to find him. They haven't been able to get a hold of Timcampy's signal, either...." The group fell silent and realized they'd hit a dead end, and they resumed eating in silence.

"I guess...." Chaoji started after he'd finished eating, "we could look for Timcampy while we look for Allen on missions. Maybe they got separated and transmissions are reaching him, but if he's not with Allen, then no return messages would come back. I guess they could still track Timcampy, though, so maybe signals just aren't reaching him for some reason."

"Wouldn't that mean he was broken?" Kisho asked, then offered to gather up everyone's trays, and one by one the exorcists slid them across the table towards him. Chaoji shook his head.

"If he had been broken, then he'd probably just fix himself. It's happened before on a few missions I've been on with Allen and Timcampy." Kisho nodded, interested.

"Thank you," Miranda said as Kisho took her tray, and he looked a little embarrassed.

"Oh...no problem..." he said and moved towards Lenalee to take her tray but she narrowed her eyes at him and stood.

"No, thanks, I'll take my own," she said frostily before walking off. Lavi laughed unexpectedly and Kisho turned sharply, glaring at him.

"What's so funny?" He demanded, and Lavi had difficulty halting his laughter long enough to talk.

"Trying to act like a gentleman doesn't work on Lenalee, especially when she's mad. I admire your efforts in trying to win her back, though." Kisho's eyes widened and his face turned redder.

"I wasn't trying to win her back! I just wanted to—"

_Kisho, you can't take advantage of a girl like that! _Shiori thought, pretending to be shocked, but knowing that Kisho was the kind of person who let things go easily and didn't stay angry at people for too long unless it was something really serious.

"I wasn't!" He protested desperately, "I was just trying to—" He began again, but stopped when someone brought a clipboard down on his head.

"Excuse me," Komui interjected, "I hate to interrupt this argument, but could you all please come with me? I have something important to tell you." Rubbing his head Kisho turned and followed Komui along with the others after dropping the trays off at the window; Jerry took them, waved, and Kisho waved back, while Shiori barked goodbye, and Miranda gave him a friendly smile. "I talked to Lenalee in the hall, and she's waiting in my office now. Let's hurry. It's about Timcampy; the Gatekeeper saw him flying around outside and he alerted us. He probably has something to tell us about Allen's whereabouts." Shiori and Lavi exchanged glances, and Kisho looked nervously at Krory and Chaoji as they looked back at him. The group quickened their pace and soon arrived in Komui's office.

"Could you bring him back if we found out where he was?" Krory asked curiously.

"I don't know....if Shiori's not with him....but maybe...things are different. I could try."

"No," Komui said abruptly, looking sharply at the group as he stood behind his desk, holding Timcampy in his hands. The Golem looked exhausted; his wings were drooped and the Golem's body heaved as he panted heavily from flying for such a long time. "If Shiori needs to be with the person you transport so you can use her power as a link and energy source, then if you tried to do it without her there you could use too much energy. Even with her power you become weak for a few days, so without her you could end up damaging your body and the Innocence. Let's just see what Timcampy can show us, and decide what to do after that." Shiori nudged Kisho's hand.

_It's alright. Let's wait, like Komui said. It won't help if you put yourself in danger,_ Shiori thought, and Kisho nodded.

"Alright, Timcampy, listen to me. I know you're tired, but we need you to show us what happened." Everyone kept quiet as Komui stroked the golden Golem's head gently. "Were you with Allen?" Timcampy nodded wearily. "Will you show us where he was when you left him? We have to find him, quickly." After a moment or two Timcampy raised his tired wings and slowly opened his mouth wider and wider. Soon a faint beam of light issued from his mouth and everyone moved closer in order to see the image better.

"Allen," Lenalee whispered, and Kisho shot her a sideways glance and noticed she was on the verge of crying as the images played out.

First the images showed Chaoji, Krory, and Kanda fighting a few Akuma, and then the image changed to Allen looking down at something—Timcampy, since he was the recorder—and then the exorcist spoke.

_"Komui probably called those guys out for reinforcements, huh...thanks, Komui....they've probably gone by now, Tim...and I don't think I can move." _Through Timcampy's vision the group saw him tugging at Allen's glove, Allen refusing to move, and finally Allen yelling in pain and surprise when Timcampy bit his hand, causing the viewers to wince. As Allen yelled at Timcampy and then mention Hevlaska and that he wanted to go back to The Order, there were mixed reactions among the group; some smiled and some looked puzzled.

_I'm so glad he's alright. _Shiori heard Lenalee thinking and felt bad to be 'eavesdropping' on her thoughts. Sometimes people blocked their thoughts so she couldn't hear them, probably in situations where they wanted their thoughts to be private, and sometimes they just came flooding in.

_What did Hevlaska tell Allen?_That was Chaoji.

_It's good to see Allen, but Timcampy's not done showing us everything yet...I have a bad feeling about this._Finally, Lavi's thoughts reached Shiori's mind and she felt a shiver go down her spine.

Everyone watched Timcampy's view get higher and they knew he must be flying; then the angle changed and he was looking down at Allen sitting with his back against the alley wall. The group drew in sharp breaths when a portal appeared and an all-too-familiar figure appeared from its depths.

"Who is that?" Kisho asked, narrowing his eyes and trying to spot more distinguishing features on the figure.

"A Noah," Krory answered grimly, his eyes narrowing and becoming darker with rage as he watched the exchange between Allen and the Noah. "Her name's Road Kamelot." Lenalee started crying when Tykki appeared behind Allen and she covered her face with her hands when Allen vanished after being pushed into the portal by Tykki. Lavi and the others watched stone-faced as Road and Tykki walked casually in after him; a second later the dark portal vanished, leaving the alleyway looking like any other one. Everyone stood in silence for a few moments—everyone except Komui. He moved to Lenalee's side and wrapped his arms around her, and she cried into his shoulder. Miranda's shoulders had slumped and she looked devastated; Lavi, Krory, and Chaoji were standing with grieved expressions on their faces while Shiori and Kisho stared, dismayed, at each other.

Shiori was showing Kisho what a Noah and Akuma had done to their town, and they both felt continuous jolts of panic as they realized over and over that their friend had been kidnapped and was facing who knew what kind of fate. If he was with all of the Noah and the Earl now, then what was going to happen to him? Komui had told Kisho about the Noah after they'd left Hevlaska...suddenly, Kisho sensed that the desire—not just his—to find Allen was more urgent than ever. The priority was filling everyone's minds. A gentle keening noise, like someone humming along to a song, was filling Kisho's ears, and a warm feeling had settled in around his heart. Kisho listened to the humming, and his eyes unconsciously closed, and he was only brought back to reality by Komui's severe, urgent voice.

"We have to move." Lenalee drew back from her brother and stared at him with wide eyes that were pink from crying.

_Move?_ Shiori thought sharply, her body rigid with shock. Kisho looked down at her, then back up at Komui.

"Move?" He repeated Shiori's question. "What do you mean?" Komui turned his back and when he answered, his tone was strained.

"I mean what it sounded like. We're moving to a new location for The Black Order, so we won't come back here."

**

* * *

**

I don't own D. Gray Man or its characters, places, or names. Katsura Hoshino is the manga's creator.  
As some of you already know I did use the event in the manga where the Black Order Main Branch moves, and they moved for mostly the same reason in this story. Hope you enjoyed the chapter, and best wishes.


	23. Divide

**I don't own D. Gray Man, the characters, names, or...stuff. I don't own the comic period, I guess is an easier way to say this.**

**Allen: Even if you're a wishy-washy person, being this indecisive isn't like you.**

**Me: I am pretty indecisive, actually...**

**Allen: Who cares? Just go crazy!**

**Me: Alright...I don't own the kitty-cat pajamas you're wearing?**

**Allen: o-o; Not that crazy...**

**Chapter Twenty One – Divide**

Komui's statement was met with startled gasps and exclamations. "If we move, Allen might find his way back and we won't be here...we can't abandon him like this...." Lenalee choked, her voice barely audible.

"We won't stop looking for him, Lenalee—trust me. I want to bring him back as much as the rest of you. But The Order's current location isn't safe now." Miranda looked at the ground, then back up with a sad and uneasy look in her eyes.

"Is it because Allen could use the Ark to come here?" She asked softly, and to Shiori it seemed like asking the question had hurt her and when Chaoji spoke angrily next she and Kisho understood why it had been painful to say, and they also understood that it was something that had been known among the group for a while.

"The Earl would _force_ him to use the Ark to bring them here and attack The Order!" The others looked uncomfortably at him, not having the heart to agree and condemn Allen, but at the same time they knew Chaoji's statement was a distinct possibility.

"Chaoji, calm down," Komui said sternly, and Chaoji blinked, then bit his lip and almost guiltily glanced down at his shoes. "Allen can still control the Ark; it can come to our branch and the Asia Branch—there are exorcists and Innocence that we can't afford to lose. We need to prepare to leave here immediately. I want all of you to go and tell everyone the situation as clearly and calmly as you can without mentioning too much or too little. At most they just need to know that The Order's location has been given away and that we must move as soon as possible. If they want to know how it happened...." Komui paused, and the exorcists experienced a rare moment where the Head of the Order was at a loss for words.

"Tell them that Timcampy was tracked on the way back by an Akuma scout—a Level Two—and that it vanished before the Gatekeeper could call Komui to alert everyone, so we couldn't get out there in time to destroy it." All eyes turned to stare at Kisho, who was standing with his arms crossed, and a look of concentration was on his face. "Level Twos can take orders—namely from the Earl—and think on their own more than Level Ones, right? It wouldn't try to take on a place full of exorcists if it was just Level Two....so it leaving to relay The Black Order's location makes sense...doesn't it?" When no one answered he continued. "I know it's lying....but if it works, then we won't make anyone panic. People could, but I think for the most part people will be upset about the fact that we have to leave permanently. If we told everyone the _real_ reason that we're moving, it could cause a huge problem." Komui looked at the ground, thinking hard, then lifted his head and nodded once.

"He's right. Right now we need to be putting our energy into moving to a safe location....and then figuring out a way to get Allen back. No use causing unnecessary problems when we don't have time for them." Lenalee looked tearfully over at her brother and was about to ask how they could get him back, but she took a breath and nodded shakily.

"I'll start telling people about what's going on. I'll be back soon." Everyone nodded and then began picking places to go check for anyone to tell about the situation.

"I'll go to the library," Chaoji volunteered, and left the room quietly.

"I'll take the men-side bathhouse," Lavi said, and Krory raised an eyebrow at him.

"You're just going to take a break, aren't you?" The Romanian exorcist accused, and Lavi shrugged his shoulders while grinning.

"I'll still let people know about what's going on....just that I'll be hanging out while I do so. Come on. We all deserve a break after all the fighting we've been doing." Krory shook his head but was smirking.

"I'll take the training area and tell everyone there you're just lazing around," he said, then left, and Lavi ran out after him.

"I'll check the women's side of the baths," Miranda offered, and left, leaving Komui, Shiori, Lenalee, and Kisho in the office. Shiori looked up at Kisho, Komui, and Lenalee, and sat down, waiting. "Oh, right...you won't be able to tell anyone anything. You can come with me, then," Lenalee offered.

"I'm counting on all of you. I'm going to contact the Asia Branch first and talk to Bak, but I'll contact the other Branches, too, since it won't hurt for all of the Branches to be prepared."

"Will all the Branches have to move?" Lenalee asked.

"If it keeps their Branch safe, then it might be their only option. I'll take care of things, you three. Just focus on telling everyone you see about getting ready to leave now." Lenalee, Kisho, and Shiori nodded and left the room. When they were out in the hall Lenalee grabbed Kisho's arm tightly, forcing him to stop abruptly. "You come with us too," she said in a commanding tone, and he didn't have a chance to protest or ask why because Lenalee was tugging him forcefully down the hall. As they were about to pass a small reading area with tables and chairs where exorcists sometimes met to talk or read, Shiori grabbed Kisho's arm with her teeth, not using enough force to break his skin but enough to force Lenalee to stop walking long enough for her to get a word in.

_Lenalee, what are you doing? Listen to me for a minute, please!_ Lenalee dropped Kisho's arm and turned quickly.

"I want to ask both of you something. Is there absolutely no way that you can bring Allen back? I mean, using that skill Kisho has....even if you're both in the same place, could you at least try?"

"Lenalee...." Kisho began, unable to meet Lenalee's hurt gaze, "I want to, and I've tried—believe me, I have. But it doesn't work. I don't know where he is, and I have no idea where to look. When he was in Spain, I might have been able to, since I've done that before with Shiori, Kanda, and Allen, but it was because she was there and I could find all of them by picking up her Innocence signature." Kisho stopped suddenly, thinking again about what he'd just said. He'd picked up Innocence signatures before—he'd picked up Shiori's because their Innocence had been connected and only by concentrating hard had it worked. When he used the power that his Innocence had amplified to transport someone from one place to another, in reality it only affected Shiori, but the resulting power output caught those directly around her up in it too so they were affected indirectly by it. Ever since Kisho had gotten his Anti-Akuma Weapon, he'd been able to sense Shiori, at first faintly, but over time his ability to sense her had gotten stronger. Even without an Anti-Akuma Weapon now, he was still connected to Shiori because he still had an Innocence fragment—and part of it was from the Heart, too. If Kisho needed to be able to sense others' Innocence, then did they need to be connected to his too? Or would he just have to work a long time at hearing for their signature before he saw any results?

Back in the present Kisho noticed Shiori and Lenalee staring intently at him. "Sorry. Lost my train of thought for a second. Listen, Lenalee....I promise that if I could bring him back right now I'd do it. Hevlaska told me if I work at it, I'll be able to find Innocence by trying to sense and hear their signature, but aside from Shiori's and the one on that last mission, I haven't had any luck with other Innocence yet. I was trying to do that this morning, but..."

_Oh, so that's why you were just standing with your eyes closed. We were worried something had happened to you._

"So, there's no way to get Allen back," Lenalee murmured, her fists clenching in anguish. Kisho and Shiori exchanged uncomfortable glances, then turned back to Lenalee.

"Well....not if we're both here," Kisho said quietly, and Lenalee's eyes widened slightly.

_I'd have to be where Allen was if Kisho had even a chance of transporting us back here... _Shiori thought carefully, _but that would mean I'd have to do something to get captured by a Noah, and if I did let them catch me, they'd probably just kill me before I even found Allen._

"They'd have to have some reason to keep you alive for a while....but they don't," Lenalee contemplated, "and we know they have a reason to keep Allen alive—because he can use the Ark." A flood of guilt suddenly overcame Lenalee and she touched her hands to her face. "I...I'm sorry....I can't believe....I said something like that...."

"Don't worry....I mean, it bothers me, that we'd just be dead meat if they found any exorcist, but you're right....we need to make some reason that they keep us alive for a while." Kisho paused, then said, "I think it should be me. If I can get to Allen, then I can see if he's alright, and after that....I can do what I'm supposed to—give him the Innocence fragment I have. If he has it, then do you think he'd be able to escape?"

_I doubt they'd let him....even if he managed to outrun them, it'd be hard, _Shiori thought, troubled, looking up at Lenalee and Kisho with her ears wilting a bit.

"Plus, after I got the Innocence to him, I'd be a liability and make it harder for him to escape since I wouldn't be able to help him fight...that's another problem. Hey, Lenalee, mind if I ask you something?" A hint of a smile lifted the edges of Lenalee's mouth.

"You mean, can you ask something else," she joked lightly, and was strangely relieved she could joke at all given the situation. Kisho laughed and Shiori wagged her tail; everyone was worried about Lenalee, about how she was taking this whole thing, and seeing that she had started bouncing back even a little reassured them that she was trying to keep going.

"The Ark kept getting mentioned when we were all talking in Komui's office, and you just said that the Noah took Allen because he could use it. What is the Ark, exactly?" Shiori nodded and hoped Lenalee would answer, since her curiosity was getting the better of her.

"Oh...well....the best way to describe it is that it's a portal that Allen can make go from anywhere he is to either the Asia Branch or the Main Branch. The Ark could probably go to other Black Order Branches, too....and each Branch has exorcists and Innocence that they want to destroy. If they destroyed all the exorcists and Innocence in the world, then they'd have no trouble creating more Akuma and taking over the world. That's what they want to do. They believe that the exorcists are just a ragtag group with the wrong idea about how the world should be—but that's how we feel about them. We think they're going to destroy the world, and they think the same about us. We're opposites—they control Dark Matter and we control Light Matter. It's impossible to understand them...but Allen tried to save one of them, once...." Suddenly Lenalee gave Shiori and Kisho a harsh glare. "And it's not because he's one of them, because he's not. That's just how Allen is...he's kind, and a really good person...even if he pushes people away sometimes. He doesn't let people know what's going on with him because he doesn't want to worry anyone or rely too much on others. I guess he grew up independent, and that's why."

Kisho didn't say anything. "To be honest...that's partly why I was angry with you....because you seemed to know how to help him, and I didn't. I've been scared all these years that sometime he'll be gone and I'll never see him again. I'm still scared." Kisho realized Lenalee was shaking so hard that she had wrapped her arms around her body as if to try and stop it. "And now I don't have any idea of how to bring him back safely."

"Lenalee....." Kisho began, knowing neither of them would take what he was going to say well, but his tone was resolute. "The Noah and Earl want to find the Heart, right?" Shiori and Lenalee nodded uneasily. "Komui thinks that they already did." Lenalee gasped and Shiori gave a surprised yip.

"Then how did you find a piece of it?" She exclaimed, alarmed. "How could any Innocence still exist if it had been destroyed by them?"

"Komui wondered if maybe the Earl and Noah had found the Heart a while ago, but that it broke itself apart and spread across the world so that it and all the other Innocence wouldn't be destroyed." Something came to Lenalee suddenly.

"Sentient..." she murmured, looking down at her feet where the garnet red links circled her ankles, "Innocence is a sentient material, almost like it's alive, and it makes sense that the Heart would be able to do something like that since it's the most powerful Innocence out there." Kisho nodded, excited in spite of what he was going to say next.

"It doesn't seem anyone knew that the Heart had been broke into pieces—except Komui, the Earl, and the Noah. They've been searching for normal Innocence fragments, but they've also been searching for Heart fragments....which means they'd want the one I had. I don't know how we'd make them find me, but if we could, then maybe they'd take me to where Allen is." Shiori lunged and bowled Kisho over, snapping her jaws inches from his face as she pressed her forepaws into his chest, holding him down. Lenalee wide-eyed in alarm, hands pressed to her face.

_Have you lost your mind?! If they caught you, they'd just kill you! Do you think you're invincible?!_

"Maybe not without the Innocence Hevlaska gave me....but when she gave it to me she said it would protect me. Maybe that means from Dark Matter....if they couldn't kill me right away, they wouldn't just let me go...wouldn't they try to figure out some way to break the protection so they could then try and destroy all the other fragments the same way? While I was wherever their base is, I could try after that to find Allen, even if they locked me up somewhere. It's a better shot than doing nothing, isn't it?"

_Do you know that would work? Have you tested this?! I know you thought you were king of the hill back at home but let me just say that you're still a human being—even with a Heart fragment you can still die! They wouldn't have to use any special skill—they could just kill you in normal ways!_

"Shiori, stop! Let him up!" With a threatening growl, Shiori bared her teeth furiously at Kisho, but backed off and sat seething while he stood up. "We're not getting anywhere by doing this. All I can think of to do now is talk to Hevlaska....but we should be warning the other exorcists and the Finders about what's going on. Komui said we're leaving as soon as possible. Hevlaska is going to come with us—there'd be no point in her staying here—so we will be able to talk to her even after we move." Kisho rubbed his arm and Shiori hid her fangs, and both looked ashamed, though for different reasons.

"Right....let's go do that now. Something will come to us later...we just need to find out more."

_I feel bad about pestering Hevlaska, though instead of trying to figure more out on our own....but I'm going to be honest—I'm out of ideas. And I guess since Hevlaska told you all of this, Kisho, that she would know something that we can do. _Shiori scraped the floor with a paw guiltily. _Sorry...about just now. But I'm still angry beyond all reason at you! Don't think about throwing yourself around as bait like that, understand?_ Kisho grinned awkwardly and hesitated a moment before nodding once.

"Alright....I get it....but we'd better get going now." Shiori huffed and walked in the middle of Kisho and Lenalee as they headed back towards the cafeteria to explain the situation to everyone.

* * *

**Me: Whew. There's another part of my theory. Hope you enjoyed the chapter.**


	24. Dispirit

**Oh, boy, am I ready for the weekend. I bet everyone is. Soon it'll be winter break and I'm dying to go shopping.**

**Tykki: Wow. Tear out the front page.**

**Me: Well, now...Disclaimer! I don't own D. Gray Man or its characters or those characters' names or their rooms. Oh, and minus one million points for sarcasm, Tykki.**

**Tykki: Oh goodness.**

**Me: Two million points in the hole there, buddy.**

**Chapter Twenty Two - Dispirit**

Allen groggily opened his eyes and lay there for a moment, trying to remember what had happened. He'd been alone in some alleyway in Spain after defeating the last of the Akuma army there, then he'd sent Timcampy off to let the others know where he was, and then....it came flooding back suddenly. Tykki and Road had showed up, Tykki had shoved him into Road's portal, and Allen had found himself trapped inside the headquarters of The Black Order's biggest enemy. Immediately after he'd fallen through the portal, two of the Noah, Jasdero and David, had yanked him off the table he'd landed on (Allen had fallen into the Noah and Earl's dining room, and they'd apparently been in the middle of a meal) and dragged him out of the room. Even in his weakened state Allen had struggled against them, but they hadn't seemed too concerned, and after a while one of them must have done something to Allen to make him pass out because being dragged down the hall outside the dining room was the last thing he remembered before waking up here...wherever here was.

Shifting his limbs a little, Allen began to take stock of the situation: he was lying on a bed that was strangely comfortable, considering he was in enemy territory, and while he'd been unconscious someone seemed to have bandaged him up. Allen was lying on his back but it wasn't hurting as much as it should have been, considering how it had been burned by an Akuma's virus bullet. The hand Timcampy had bitten a while ago had bandages wrapped around his fingers and hand; the room was dimly lit by a lamp burning nearby but because of the white bandages contrasting against his darkened skin they were easier to see than the bandages he felt wrapped around his left leg and foot, which had a bad sprain and slash wound. He could also barely make out a splint bracing his leg and ankle. Both of those injuries now hardly hurt at all, and the stinging and aching pains from the small cuts and bruising across his body were now nonexistent. He finally noticed the needle inserted in the vein on the inside of his elbow and felt a jolt of panic as he saw the plastic bag of clear liquid hanging from a stand near the bed. It was probably painkiller, which explained why he wasn't hurting that much, or just plain fluids but there was no way it was staying in his arm. He attempted to reach for it but his left arm wouldn't move for some reason. Alarmed, he glanced at his wrists and saw that they were lying flat against the bed, restrained by metal cuffs. The only limb that hadn't been bound was his left ankle, probably because there wasn't much point to restraining an injured limb. It might as well have been cuffed, though, because the exorcist could hardly move it. Well, this was just great.

Surveying the rest of the room as best he could in the dark, Allen saw that it was plain but surprisingly well decorated for a captive: there was a wardrobe made from some kind of dark wood, and a desk with a chair was next to it. There was also a dark wood bedside table next to the bed, with a glass of water and a lit oil lamp sitting on it. Although Allen's throat felt dry he didn't think it was a good idea to drink the water...because who knew what had been done to it. The brief comfort Allen suddenly had when he remembered Timcampy had left to alert everyone of his location was now gone; how would anyone ever find him here—they had no idea where he was and there was no way for them to find out. Allen didn't even know how far away he was from where he'd started out. That only left escape, either on foot or by accessing the Ark...but grudgingly Allen realized that wasn't the smartest idea, not the way things were now.

A distant noise from outside of the room caught his attention, faint as it was, and with a sick jolt of realization he knew someone was coming towards the room he was in. Quickly he grabbed the needle, then stuck it and his right arm under the covers and settled back down under them, and was pretending to be asleep when the door opened. Footsteps approached him and Allen prayed that his heart thudding loudly couldn't be heard by whoever was in the room.

"Aww, Allen's still asleep....he's just so cute, I want to hug him," a voice cooed, and mentally Allen cringed as he recognized Road's voice.

"Please, stop it. That's really disturbing," a male voice groaned, and Allen identified it as David's. It probably was the only thing he agreed with a Noah on.

_It really is disturbing...and I hope she doesn't..._

A hand suddenly stroked a few strands of hair near Allen's ear and it was so unexpected and unwanted that he couldn't help flinching. "Oops, I think I woke him up," Road said, and Allen pretended to go through the motions of waking up. He took a breath in, then let it out, and slowly opened his eyes and blinked wearily. "Good morning, Allen! How are you feeling? You look at a lot better than when we found you!" Road exclaimed cheerfully, smiling widely at him. Allen yawned and humorlessly smiled back.

"Oh, I'm fine....except for the fact that I can't leave. And I'm just wondering what the catch is." He already knew, but getting as much information as he could was one of the few things he could do right now. Escaping would have to wait until later, when he was alone. Road tilted her head curiously, as if she didn't know what Allen was talking about, but David's eyes narrowed harshly.

"Watch what you say, exorcist. I'd think about where I was if I were you. Even though the Earl's orders are to not kill you—yet—he didn't say anything about not giving you some more injuries to deal with." Road turned her head and glared dangerously at David.

"Don't you dare, David. This is why the Earl put me in charge of him—because all the rest of you would do stuff like that. We didn't bring him here to do that, so get lost." Glaring daggers at Road and grumbling, David reluctantly left the room and slammed the door, and Road was once again smiling happily at Allen. "Isn't that better? It's just the two of us now." The female Noah reached a hand out and resumed stroking Allen's hair.

"Yeah....listen, could you—I don't know—stop touching me?" Allen asked, hoping she would, but as Road's eyes narrowed he knew it was too much to ask.

"You mean you don't like it? That hurts my feelings, Allen," Road said, pouting, but she'd stopped stroking his hair, although the exorcist noticed that her skin tone was gradually darkening. "I could call someone else in to watch you, if you want." Gulping quietly, Allen forced a smile.

"No....that's fine," he said, mentally cursing himself for saying what he knew Road wanted him to say, but her eyes brightened and her skin went back to a peachy color...and she started playing with his hair again.

"Mind if I ask what you are going to do with me? Or, more specifically, what you'll do with me if I don't cooperate?" Road sighed and frowned sadly; Allen stared at her and noticed her expression seemed to be genuinely remorseful.

"If you don't operate the Ark for us and take us to The Black Order...the Main Branch and then the Asia Branch....then we'll just kill you."

"Won't they kill me anyway after I use it? They only see me as a traitor." Road unexpectedly smiled.

"If you help us, Allen, then I'm sure the Earl will forgive you and let you stay here! He wants to give you a second chance if you prove that you'll be loyal to us."

"There's nothing to forgive!" Allen yelled. "And there's no way I'd put up with staying here, or obey _any_ of your orders," He growled, glaring violently at Road. Allen expected Road to get angry again, but she didn't; instead she ran a finger from the side of his forehead to the edge of his jaw line and he felt a chill go down his spine.

"Let me tell you something, Allen...we don't want everyone at your precious Order right now...there are really only two people we have an eye on now. We've been watching them for a while...and we can wait for one of them to go on a mission and get him then....but we need your help with getting the other. And if you do then we can just get both of them at the same time." Allen's eyes widened in dread and hot fear and anger took hold of him when he realized who one of the people that Road was talking about was. With an angry yell he began fighting against the cuffs that held him.

"I'll never help you, no matter what you do to me! Do you understand what I'm saying?! You're just out of luck because I'll never let you get Lenalee!"

"Wow, Allen, just calm down. Don't you want to hear why we want her? It's not _exactly _the reason you thought, but it was still close."

"ROAD!!" The female Noah seemed to be enjoying herself immensely and gave an unnatural giggle before continuing.

"Everyone thought she was the Heart, but there's something that you didn't know. She isn't the whole Heart—she just has part of it. And now one of her friends has one too." Allen stopped thrashing and yelling and began panting from his outburst. Then he stared at Road in confusion.

"Wh...what? There's more than one Heart?" Road laughed.

"No, you dummy. Didn't you hear me? We found the Heart a loooooong time ago—even before some of you exorcists were born. Did you think we wouldn't have? Please, Allen. When we have a goal, we reach it, unlike _your_ pathetic organization." Allen gave a furious exclamation and ground his teeth. "We found it years and years ago, before you'd even joined the Order....heh, it was before you'd even started walking. The Earl found it and was about to destroy it, but it suddenly broke into a ton of little fragments and shot all over the world, just so we wouldn't be able to find it. One fragment made its way to your precious Lenalee when she was a child, and that little twerp you call Kisho has one too—he just found it a few weeks ago, in fact."

"He did...?" Allen said blankly, stunned, and Road laughed again, but it wasn't a nice one and it caused a chill to run up and down Allen's spine.

"Yeah....it's funny. I'll give him some credit, since we're putting all our resources into finding Heart fragments now, but someone as inexperienced and worthless as him could find one." Road began playing with a lock of Allen's hair again and he tried not to shudder.

"Stop touching me." Road gave the lock of Allen's hair she held between her fingers a sharp tug.

"Let me tell you Allen, we will find them because the truth is the Heart just bought itself some time. We're going to find all the fragments, exorcists included, and destroy them. Once the last one is destroyed it's game over for you exorcists."

"So you're just going after the Heart now, and you're leaving the regular Innocence fragments alone?" Lenalee, Kisho, and everyone else.....nightmarish visions of them and other exorcists being attacked and killed the same way he had almost been two years ago filled his mind and no matter how hard he tried to shut the images out they kept coming. Road shrugged and smirked slightly, then spoke, and what she was saying brought Allen back to reality.

"Well, we'll take any we can get, but our priority now is to destroy the Heart fragments, because once we have them all, we can just destroy the normal Innocence all at once, no matter where we are. We've already destroyed a few of the Heart fragments, actually." Allen felt weak with shock, but his expression hardened and a determined light entered his eyes again.

"You're never getting there. I don't care what you do to me." Road raised an eyebrow at Allen, held up her hands, and sighed.

"I'm sorry to say that you're wrong, Allen...about the first one. You are going to take us there, but you won't care what we do to you, because....you'll just be obeying orders. You know what I mean, don't you?" She asked softly, and Allen didn't reply. He looked away from her and tried to force the panic that was rising in his chest down. "That's why we took care of you after we got you here. No matter how much you hate the idea, you're not that far off from being one of us. I'll just leave you with that little thought and come back later to see if you've changed your mind, or rather, to see if you've come to your senses." With that, the female Noah stood and crossed the room towards the door. "I feel bad about this, Allen, I really do....but it's the Earl's orders...you'll understand what that means soon."

"SHUT UP!" Allen roared after Road as she pulled the door open and left the room.

Allen cursed mentally as he continuously fought against the cuffs, trying with all his might to somehow break them, but they didn't give. _I'm not going to wait around here so they can use me like that!_

"Come on, Innocence, I need your help to get out of here! I need to warn everyone somehow....I'm not letting the Noah get within an inch of any of them!" A bright flash of green signified the invocation had been successful, and Allen's fingers had transformed into long, spindly claws. Just as soon as Allen had activated his Innocence a painful jolt surged through his body and the jolt was so strong that his Innocence deactivated and he was paralyzed for a minute or two. When he could move his body again and the shock wore off, he dimly realized that things being that easy was too much to ask. The cuffs somehow prevented him from using his Innocence—maybe some force field that negated his Innocence's power was on them. Mentally cursing Allen fought against the metal cuffs for a few more minutes, attempting to break at least one of the ones around his wrists even if it meant hurting himself in the process, but if he wanted to have even a snowball's chance of escape—and currently he didn't—then he couldn't afford to do that. He'd break his wrist before he broke the cuff. Another tactic he decided on was quickly activating his Innocence, then trying to break the cuff with his claws before the force field zapped him but that didn't work and Allen got shocked a second time.

Panting, the exorcist lay still on the bed and stared weakly at the ceiling....then activated his Innocence again, and screamed in pain as he was shocked again. His back arched as the shock continued, and for a second after it stopped Allen lay breathing heavily, but then immediately activated his Innocence again. As he dreaded a shock came and he almost deactivated his Innocence automatically but he agonizingly forced himself to keep it activated. Through eyes narrowed in agony he tried to stand the pain and keep from crying out by thinking of Lenalee, of Lavi, Chaoji, Miranda, and focused on breaking free so he could escape the Noah's headquarters and getting back to The Black Order.

_I've been through worse than this and lived through it...I can't give up here._

The green glow of Allen's Innocence began to grow brighter but as it did the shocks coursing through his body intensified and his back arched sharply from the jolts and a scream tore loose from the exorcist's throat. A rushing noise was filling his ears and dark spots were starting to blacken his vision. Desperately Allen tried to focus on getting back to his friends, instead of the pain, but he knew he was going to pass out soon. _Innocence....I won't give up...Not...even if....I....die....but I'm....going...to....live...._

The green light surging from Allen's left hand was now growing and flowing around him and had almost turned from bright green to a blinding white light...and the cuffs around his wrists were starting to burn and melt, as if acid was being poured over them.

* * *

"....Timcampy was followed back here by an Akuma, and before you could kill it, it got away?" The male Finder Kisho was talking to snorted derisively and glared down at the teenager; he was at least two feet taller than Kisho. "That's what happens when things are left to novices." Clenching his fists behind his back, Kisho forced himself to be composed so he didn't make things harder than they had to be....and no matter what he wouldn't reveal the real reason that they were moving. Shiori was off with Lenalee in another area of the cafeteria and Lenalee was currently doing most of the explaining since no one else in the area except Lenalee and Kisho could hear the canine exorcist.

"Yeah, I messed up, and we're moving because of it. Komui's already banned me from missions, if that makes you feel any better, and whether or not I'm going to remain an exorcist is up in the air at this point." This seemed to please the Finder and he gave an unpleasant sneer.

"Good move on his part. Fine. So all I have to do is tell everyone I see that they have to get their stuff ready for the move." Kisho nodded.

"Right. And once they're done, if they could help the Science Branch pack up, that would be great." The Finder suddenly shot an arm out and grabbed a fistful of the front of Kisho's shirt, then lifted him easily into the air.

"And I'll also let them know whose fault it is that we're moving. You'll be facing punishment not just from me, I expect." Kisho widened his eyes and gripped the Finder's thick arm.

"Do we really need to waste time doing this?" Kisho braced himself as the Finder shook him roughly a few times.

"It's not wasting time," the Finder replied, then opened his fist and dropped Kisho to the floor, laughing when he thudded heavily to the ground. As Kisho painfully began picking himself up the Finder laughed. "Later, kid," the Finder chuckled as he strode off. Kisho sighed and stood while brushing himself off casually, as if nothing had happened, but he was earning some sympathetic, uncomfortable, and harsh stares from exorcists and Finders around him who had witnessed the spectacle.

_Well, that's one less __annoying__ person to deal with....I'll go see how Lenalee and Shiori are doing,_ he thought, and headed off in their direction. "Hey, guys!" He called once he was almost there, waving an arm to get their attention. Lenalee had just finished talking to Emile, and Kisho felt a rush of relief that she'd found him, since this Finder was much more agreeable than the last guy and would do a good job of getting the news around without causing confusion or unease. All three of them turned when Kisho called to them, and he grinned at them. "Hey, I just finished telling a lot of people over here. I think that's most everyone in the—" Kisho broke off with a sudden intake of breath, as if something had unexpectedly caused him pain. He then wrapped his arms around his body tightly and fell to his knees. Lenalee, Shiori, and Emile shot over to Kisho, kneeling around in front of him, but they jolted back in alarm when he began moaning and yelling in pain.

Lenalee reached for him but a sudden surge of energy flaring up around him knocked her, Shiori, and Lenalee ten feet away where they landed right on their backs. Lying stunned for a moment, they fought to get their breath back. Shiori moved her paws as if she was running and scrambled back to all fours before racing back to where Kisho was crouched. Lenalee and Emile recovered as well and did the same, and saw that Kisho was still in a crouching position. His eyes were squeezed tightly shut and his teeth were clenched, but every now and then he'd let out a yell or groan of pain. Shiori tried to get closer but every time she did she'd get a shock and was forced to step back.

_Get Komui! Get Matron! Get someone!! _Shiori thought wildly and Lenalee hopped up swiftly and took off. The wolf attempted again to step closer to Kisho but was repelled again by the same surge of power. _What's happening? Kisho! Try and talk to me, please!_

_ I don't....I don't know...._ Kisho thought blindly, for he was in too much pain to talk. _The Innocence is....burning....it's like...it's burning through me....my whole body...is burning...__I can't...take it._

_Hang on! Just hang on__! __You're going to be fine! Keep listening to me! _Shiori wailed in her mind when she saw that Kisho's head was drooping and that his fingernails, which had been digging into his arms, were releasing their grip as he appeared to be growing weaker. Suddenly the wolf noticed that the light surging around Kisho was growing weaker as well, but that didn't make her feel any better. _Kisho! Kisho! _She thought and set up a howl, then lunged forward and caught him as he fell forward over her back, unconscious. The light around him was completely gone now. Looking over her shoulder Shiori whimpered and nudged Kisho with her nose. A crowd of exorcists and Finders had long since gathered around Shiori, Emile, and Kisho. _Emile, is he breathing? Please tell me he is! _Shiori thought desperately even though the Finder couldn't hear her, but he was pulling Kisho off of her back and cradling him as he checked the teenager's vitals.

"He has a pulse, and his heart's beating fast but not irregularly. He's breathing and just seems to be unconscious." Heavy and urgent footsteps made Shiori whirl and see the crowd parting to let Komui and Matron through; they both proceeded to take his vitals as Emile had. Matron took his pulse, checked his heartbeat, his breathing, and felt his forehead.

"He's a little weak, but I don't see anything physically wrong with him." As Matron spoke she noticed bright red circles around his wrists, and as she lifted his wrist gently, she saw that the skin had blistered and started peeling as if he'd been burned. But she didn't understand why, for nothing could have caused it. Shaking her head, Matron said firmly, "I think he'll be fine. If he rests for a while he should recover with no complications." Emile stood and lifted Kisho carefully, then took off with Matron and Komui. Shiori looked around and spotted Lenalee and padded over to her, wagging her tail gratefully.

_Thank you, Lenalee, thank you....I was scared....I thought he was going to die...._ Lenalee bent down and patted Shiori on the head, then stood again and gestured after the three people that had just left.

"It's okay. But let's go see what the matter with him is and make sure he's going to be okay. I bet they'd let you stay with him." Nodding shakily, Shiori took a few breaths to calm down, and then she and Lenalee ran off down the hall. Lenalee looked back over her shoulder at the alarmed crowd and waved. "Everything's under control now! Thank you for your concern! Please get ready to move, alright, everyone?" She looked back ahead and heard a few calls and murmurs of agreement before she ran out of the cafeteria and dashed with Shiori towards the Infirmary.


	25. Call

**Hello again! I've decided to upload two chapters at a time...I guess there's really no limit but to better avoid making people angry because of possible cliffhangers and because I want to upload more I think I might stick with that from now on unless I start catching up with myself...but I'm at Chapter 31 now so...I'm good for a bit longer. And I'm not about to stop writing so all is good **** Hope people are still enjoying the chapters!**

**I don't own D. Gray Man or the characters, except my OC's, but they are still their own people!**

**Kisho: Person.**

**Me: Yeah.**

Chapter Twenty Three – Call

Allen groaned in discomfort a few times before forcing himself to open his eyes and look around. He felt like he'd been struck by lightning and forced to run into a brick wall a few times. He felt exhausted and he could hardly move without intense pain shooting through him. But something was different, and he felt relieved, though he couldn't remember why just yet. Then Allen's gray-blue eyes drifted down to his wrists and he realized that they were free. The metal cuffs that had bound his wrists and right ankle were gone, and nothing—save for black burn marks on the white sheets—hinted they'd ever been there. Allen's wrists were red and blistered, and the skin on his wrists was peeling; he assumed his right ankle was burned the same way. A hole had been burned in his pant leg around the ankle and the areas were stinging painfully but that seemed like an unimportant detail now—he was free. Sitting up, Allen tried to figure out what had happened. His Innocence's activation had destroyed the cuffs and the barrier that had been around them. The links, he guessed, had been composed of dark matter, which was why they had reacted in such a way when Allen activated his Innocence, but then the dark matter had been destroyed by its opposite.

Worrying suddenly if his Innocence was alright, since a lot of power had been used to destroy the barrier, Allen activated it and watched his left fingers elongate into claws. Nothing felt wrong, but something strange was now nagging at the back of Allen's mind, a stray thought was tickling at him like someone was whispering right into his head. The exorcist sat up and held his head, shaking it a few times, trying to get rid of it. But suddenly words formed in his head.

_Shiori...?_

_ Who's that? _Allen thought, startled, not immediately recognizing the voice.

_...Kisho...who's this? Where's Shiori?_

_ It's Allen._

_ Allen? Allen! You're okay! Where are you?_

_ Kisho? _Allen almost exclaimed out loud, as discovering the speaker's identity had surprised him. _Why can I hear you? Are you near me?_

_ No, I'm at The Black Order. Something weird happened..._

_ Obviously, _Allen thought back, a half-grin on his face.

_ So where are you? Where did you go after the Noah pushed you through that portal?_

_ I'm in their headquarters, but I don't know exactly where that is...wait, how'd you know what happened to me?_ Suddenly an elated grin stretched across Allen's face. _You found Timcampy!_

_ Yeah. Well, he found us—He made his way back here a little while after everyone got back and he showed us what happened._

_ What's going on now? _Allen thought urgently, and felt a spasm of panic in his chest when Kisho didn't answer right away.

_A lot of stuff has happened...there's kind of...well...there's some bad news._

_What? Not Len...not anyone...? _Allen blurted, barely managing to correct himself.

_No! _Kisho exclaimed quickly. _Everyone's fine. But since we saw that the Noah Clan had captured you, we...well, Komui announced that we were moving to another location. Everyone's getting ready to leave now. He's already got a place picked out for the new Black Order. He contacted the other Branches to tell them about the situation. He told Bak everything since we're going to rest there on the way but all the other Branches and the exorcists here know is that Akuma found the Main Branch's location and could be relaying it to the Earl. So, Komui told the other Branches that...just a few of us know the real reason but we decided to not tell everyone...since it wouldn't go over well._

_ ...And the reason is that the Earl and Noah want me to use the Ark to take them to headquarters. _ There was a pause, and Allen's expression darkened as he waited for a response.

_ ...Y—yeah...Allen...sorry. But believe me—Komui didn't make that decision because he didn't trust you. It was...just a precaution__; he didn't want you to be put in danger, either.__And he's trying hard now to find out where you are._

Allen ground his teeth and didn't think anything back.

_ I'm telling the truth. We're doing everything they can to find you, too—Lavi, Chaoji, Krory, Miranda, and even some of the Finders, like Emile. And there's something else that I need to tell you._

_ What is it? _Allen thought stiffly, holding back the urge to feel angry.

_Lenalee, Shiori, and me are trying too__ and w__e think we'll be able to get you back if we can only find out where you are! And I need to give something to you. Lavi and me found an Innocence fragment on a mission and it turned out to be—_

_ —A fragment of the Heart? _Allen finished for him, sitting up attentively.

_Yeah. How'd you know?_

_ A Noah, Road, just told me the same thing. Said that all of them and the Earl found it ages ago and that it broke itself apart so they wouldn't be able to find it. And they know that Lenalee's Innocence is part of it, and yours, too._

_ Well, it's not really mine...it's yours. I'm not the Accommodator for it anymore._

_ You're not? Why? And I already have an Anti-Akuma Weapon,_ Allen thought, startled, but skeptical about what he was being told.

_ Hevlaska told me—it's yours. _Kisho repeated._ When I went to see her my Innocence fused with the Heart fragment and she said that if it was just the Heart fragment it would be too powerful and destroy you along with the Noah if I got it to you, but my Innocence and the Heart fragment's powers kind of melted together I guess and it's in a more subdued form now, but according to Hevlaska it'll still purify the Noah's dark matter and get rid of him!_ Allen didn't breathe for a moment, his eyes wide with a mix of emotions—amazement, relief, doubt...

_Could that really work?_

_ I think so. But...I'm not sure how I could get there. Shiori would need to be around you in order for there to be a...wait. _Kisho stopped himself midsentence. _We're communicating with our thoughts now...that's a connection. Even if Shiori isn't with you to make the link, I might either be able to bring you here._

_ Are you sure? _Allen asked elatedly in his mind. _Then try it! I almost wish I could see the Noah's faces when they find me gone, though..._

_Yeah, me too...but you'll have to wait a little while. _Kisho said, sounding apologetic, and Allen narrowed his eyes with frustration.

_Uh, and why would that be?_

_ I think I'm...not really conscious now. Something strange happened with me recently...it might be hard to..._

_ I can bet I've seen and heard of more weird things than you..._ Allen thought doubtfully, _so define strange._

_ Okay...well, when my Innocence and the Heart fragment joined, the new Innocence...uh...went inside me. It's part of me now, or something. I was telling everyone that we had to leave The Order's current location and suddenly I felt like __something was burning me__, or like I was being __shocked__. I don't know what it was, but that's why I'm unconscious now._

_Burning, shocked__...__? H__ang on...that can't be what happened, can it?_

_ Huh?_

_ I think that was maybe my Innocence and yours synchronizing__ and creating a connection between our minds, __which is why we can communicate like this now. I was trapped here and the Noah used some weird restraints to make it so I couldn't escape. Whenever I activated my Innocence, they shocked me. I kept trying to activate it, and I must have blacked out but when I woke up the shackles were gone, and I mean__ wiped off the face of the Earth__,_ Allen explained looking again at the burn marks on his wrists and the scorch marks on the sheets.

_ Then...both of our Innocences __freed you__ by synchronizing, and __they __combined their power__...and we also felt the same things?_

_Maybe...__.I've never experienced anything like this before...I'm just guessing, _Allen admitted.

_ Same here. But anyway...I'll wake up soon so I can try to bring you back. But __are any of the Noah coming now? Or the Earl?_

_ No. Now would be a good time to wake up._

_ Got it...well...just wait a little. I might have to tell Shiori goodbye._

_ ...Don't do this if you're going to get yourself killed,_ Allen thought furiously.

_I don't plan to. I think I'm waking up now...I'll try not to take much longer._

_ Hold on! _

_ I'm not going to back down now, and you better not, either. See you soon. If you can, keep your Innocence activated—that created the connection in the first place, like you said._

Allen's head ached suddenly and his ears popped like he'd switched altitudes suddenly, and although he tried to contact Kisho again and again, he didn't hear anything.

"So...you think since there's a connection now, like the one your Innocence and Shiori's has, that you can bring him back." Sitting up in a bed in the Infirmary, Kisho nodded resolutely.

"I don't know how much time Allen has—the Noah could walk in on him—so I'm going to do it now."

"You're still weak," Komui mentioned sharply, and Lenalee and Shiori nodded anxiously, agreeing. "And the aftereffects of you transporting him here could be too much for your body at the moment." Matron had bandaged Kisho's wrist and right ankle, since they had severe second-degree burns, and he was still recovering from the injuries he'd gotten on the mission a few weeks ago.

"Listen, I'm in the Infirmary already. If something goes wrong I already have more of a chance of survival even if I collapse. And this could be our only chance."

_You don't know where he is, though! What if it doesn't work because of that? _Shiori thought, panicked and angry that Kisho was thinking of going through with this, the way he was.

"That's right. Kisho, don't do this now," Lenalee murmured softly, looking troubled. "I want Allen back too, so much that it hurts, but..." Kisho unexpectedly snapped angrily at his friends and they jumped in surprise.

"If I try it and it doesn't work then we'll be no worse off than before! This is the only lead we have right now, so we should take it!"

_Kisho! _Shiori jumped halfway up onto the bed and pawed at Kisho's hand, then whined once.

"Don't worry," Kisho said softly, calming down, feeling bad about getting mad. "Something tells me that what's going to happen will be what's supposed to happen and it'll be alright. Understand? Just trust me for now. If it doesn't work then I'll literally stick my foot in my mouth." Despite the situation Lenalee and Shiori both covered their mouths and laughed. Komui gave a tired smile and rubbed his head.

"Matron won't be happy with this...she's out getting you food to help with your anemia. You have my permission to go ahead with this, but do it before she comes back." Kisho nodded and closed his eyes.

"I'm not the Accommodator for you anymore, but just one last time...Innocence, activate!" Kisho held his hands over his chest and grunted as a flash of light surged up around him. Lenalee, Shiori, and Komui felt a shockwave and stumbled slightly from its power. "Allen needs you, but he's where we can't reach him right now, and he's in danger." Lenalee, Komui, and Shiori squeezed their eyes shut at the white light around Kisho became blinding. "Help me bring him back!" The three heard Kisho shout, and then they were knocked to the floor as another, more powerful shockwave went through the room. The light abruptly vanished and they opened their eyes slowly, then shakily got to their feet. Shiori lifted her head and glanced around the room frantically. Kisho wasn't in the infirmary bed anymore. Komui's eyes narrowed and then widened in realization.

"He wanted to bring Allen here, but instead, it seems like the Innocence transported him to wherever Allen is." Lenalee and Shiori turned, stunned, and gaped at Komui.

"But he didn't know where he was! Even Allen didn't know where the Noah had taken him!" Komui put a hand to his chin.

"Maybe he didn't...but maybe the Innocence knew...we can only hope that he's safe. There's nothing we can do from here."

"Wait—Hevlaska could know, couldn't she?" Lenalee asked. "Maybe she could tell if he was where Allen is, too!" After a moment, Komui nodded slowly.

"That's not a bad idea...Hevlaska said that no matter where Kisho was, she would be able to sense him because of the Innocence. But you two should keep preparing to leave—I'll talk to Hevlaska. I'll find you and tell you what she says later." Lenalee looked down, obviously unhappy with her brother's suggestion, and Shiori's ears had wilted in disappointment, but they gave no further protests.

"I want to come, but there are still exorcists and Finders who don't know what's going on. We'll make sure everyone knows, then get ready to leave." Komui looked gratefully at the two exorcists and smiled softly.

"We'll be going through the portal that leads to the Asia Branch, and after that, the new Order's location is almost a week's journey by train. There's an abandoned castle in Russia that we've recently gotten permission to use. It was easier to accomplish because the place hadn't been in use for years, and there's a legend that says it's haunted."

"Haunted?" Lenalee asked, thinking it probably wasn't, but because it sounded like it had been abandoned and dilapidated, rumors of that sort would quickly show up and spread.

"That made it better for us, actually. We will have to fix it up quite a bit but that shouldn't be a problem once I make a new Komurin there." Lenalee gave an uneasy smile and then ran quickly out the door with Shiori keeping pace beside her.


	26. Utilization

**Happy Holidays! :D  
I don't own D. Gray Man or any of its characters but I'm glad that I can be free to write stories about them! It's been a blast so far.**

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Chapter Twenty Four – Utilize

Kisho groaned and held his head tightly, then forced himself to his feet and glanced around, hastily trying to figure out where he was and from there judge if he needed to suddenly book it. But the place he'd been dropped off in was completely dark, cold, and silent. Bending down gingerly Kisho felt the floor around him and discovered it was smooth—either stone or wood—so he was probably inside, so there was a good chance that this place was uninhabited. _But I have to get out of here, anyway, and fast,_ Kisho thought, suddenly feeling uncomfortable despite his observations, as if someone was watching him. Being in the dark just made it worse since if someone was in this place and sneaking up on him, Kisho would never know until they made a noise and by then it would likely be the end of the road for him. The teenager unexpectedly grabbed at his sleeve; something was crawling in it. Reaching inside his right sleeve quickly he yanked out whatever thing was crawling in it and tossed it away. A slight breeze ruffled his hair and Kisho jumped away, but the breeze just came back, and the teenager almost yelled when he felt something rubbing against his face. He waited for pain to follow afterward, but nothing happened. Kisho continued to feel a slight breeze near his face and a faint flapping noise suddenly reached his ears.

"What is that?" He whispered, and the breeze suddenly grew stronger. "When did it get in my sleeve?" The fourteen-year-old felt a sharp nip on the side of his face and he jumped again. "Ow!" Kisho lurched backward in alarm and waved an arm in front of his face, then jolted as he felt something land on his hand and sit there. When the thing on his hand didn't do anything Kisho relaxed a bit. Then something occurred to him. "Is that one of the Golems?" The weight vanished from Kisho's hand and second later a breeze began wafting across his face. "If you are a Golem, you're either Timcampy or Kamu, because they like to bite. If you're not, though, I could be a dead man soon." The gentle breeze stirred up by the Golem's flapping continued to waft across Kisho's face, but then it vanished abruptly. A small but still substantial weight nestled into his hair. "You haven't really attacked me...except for biting me.....but I don't think you're some Akuma....so I guess for now I'll just let you stay there and hope you don't eat my brains out." Kisho began inching his feet forward, feeling for anything he might trip over. _So far, so good. After this, I'll find a place to hide where I can actually see around me, and then.... _Kisho halted abruptly, alarmed, when his right foot struck something. Before he could even wonder what it was, something grabbed him forcefully around the throat and lifted him into the air. The exorcist's mouth gaped open, trying in vain to suck in air, but the pressure around his throat made that impossible. Kisho began to panic after the seconds began ticking by, and he struggled even though he knew he couldn't get free. Whoever had caught him was inhumanly strong.

Unexpectedly, but to Kisho's blind relief, the pressure on his throat suddenly lessened although he was still suspended in the air. He then gave a yell that was stifled as something heavy pressed over his face, completely covering it. A strange sound, like chanting, filtered through the darkness and without warning Kisho's chest suddenly burned and whatever was covering his face lifted away immediately. A bright flash from the Innocence activating on its own and surrounding Kisho's body with light allowed him to see who had attacked him. If the figure hadn't had one hand still around Kisho's throat, the teenager would have inhaled sharply in shock as he got a first glimpse of his assailant's face. The figure was swatting its other hand at a Golem flapping near its face, and whenever the hand got close enough, the Golem would bite. Then the figure gave a shudder and dissolved into dust that vanished like a breeze had blown it away. The room was thrown into darkness again when the Innocence's light suddenly vanished as its self-executed Invocation ended. Kisho thudded to the floor, but he was on his feet again in an instant, and was streaking blindly for the door he'd seen when the Innocence's flash had lit up the room. Grappling in the dark for the doorknob, he grasped empty air a few times before his hand closed around it. Kisho felt something nestle in his hair again but he was too focused on getting out of the room to pay more attention. Giving a quiet moan of relief, Kisho turned the doorknob, yanked the door open and darted out of the room, gazing around at his surroundings frantically.

Corridors stretched off to his left and right, but in front of him there was a single hallway that went straight for a short distance before winding away to the right. Taking his chances, Kisho darted forward and followed the passageway. In his panic he wasn't caring where he went, only caring that he got away from the room where that thing had been. After turning the corner, Kisho saw that the only way to go now was straight, so he did and ran as fast as he could. But he screeched to a halt when a shadow suddenly peeked around the corner in front of him. A few doors were in the walls around him, and one door particular caught his eye. On its surface were the letters WC and it was open slightly, so Kisho leapt inside, slammed the door. The door had a lock so he hastily bolted the door and stepped back. It was dim inside the bathroom but still Kisho was grateful that someone had bothered to keep the lamp sitting on a small wooden table burning. He was about to turn the it up more so he could see better when a loud knock at the door caused him to jump and almost knock the lamp over, but he saved it just in time and held his breath, heart thudding heavily.

"Road, I know that was you! I'd recognize your midget profile anywhere! Don't take forever in there like last time—I don't care if you're a girl! I'm leaving, but if you're not out in five minutes I'll come back and break the door down! Got it?" Footsteps stomped away down the hall and Kisho slumped to the floor, thanking his lucky stars that whoever that man had been, he hadn't waited for a response. But he just had five minutes to get out of the bathroom before he came back, so he crawled over to the door and stood slowly, pressing his ear to the door and straining to hear for anyone coming. Half a minute passed with no one approaching the door and waiting; if his hearing was good, no one had walked down the hall and no one was currently coming, either. Sighing, Kisho stepped back and slumped against a wall, then flinched when something flew into his face. An instant later he relaxed; he saw that the thing he'd believed to be a Golem in fact was.

"Timcampy! So that was you before....what a relief. There could have been a flying Akuma in my hair for all I knew....and I wouldn't have been able to do much about it. I wonder if the Innocence would have freaked out about you then, though, since it did for that thing that attacked me...." In his rush to get out of sight earlier Kisho hadn't been paying attention but thanks to the person stomping away before he knew now that the floor was either wood or stone so it would be easier to hear someone coming even if they walked quietly. Kisho was about to unfasten the bolt on the door but it suddenly hit him that he was in unfamiliar territory without anything to defend himself. A wicker basket was sitting on the floor between the toilet and the small table with the lamp. Kisho knelt hastily and lifted the top off and peered inside the basket, not really expecting to find anything of use, but searched through the basket's contents anyway. Timcampy settled on top of Kisho's head again while the teenager tried to focus on finding something he could use as a weapon, but his mind kept drifting back to that figure he'd briefly seen—it had been a human figure but its face had been a pure white skeleton, and Kisho had glimpsed long, pointed ears, and an unsettling gap-toothed grin. The hands gripping him had been strong even though they'd been thin and bony. Kisho had probably only seen the figure for a few seconds before the Innocence had turned it to dust, but he was still terrified by the memory of it. It had to have been some kind of Akuma; if it wasn't he had no idea what it was.

Rifling through the basket as quickly but quietly as he could, Kisho found several objects: a bone toothbrush, a round toothpaste container, a bar of soap, a rectangular wooden object, and a small cup. Sighing, Kisho lifted the objects in case anything else was in the basket but there wasn't anything remotely weapon-like inside. The end of the bone toothbrush was somewhat pointed, and maybe he could stab someone with it, but still it wouldn't help him much in an actual fight....but he took it and slid it in his pocket. Anything that brought him a tiny bit closer to defending himself and making it to Allen was worth taking along. Dark brown eyes strayed to the bar of soap; if—or when, more like—Kisho got attacked maybe he could rub soap in his enemy's eyes. The teenager laughed quietly and shook his head, realizing that he sounded ridiculous. Kisho picked up the soap and was about to shut the basket's lid when he picked up the wooden object on a whim and studied it closer. Turning it, he noticed that a line of metal was in the middle of it and that the metal had a little groove in it. Kisho pinched the groove between his forefinger and thumb and pulled; a blade extended outward and Kisho saw that this object was a straight razor and would be a lot better than a toothbrush. Kisho suddenly wondered how much time had gone by; he closed the razor, shoved it and the soap into his pocket and returned to the door.

Listening hard for a few seconds let him know that no one was coming, and he undid the bolt, turned the handle and opened the door slowly. Looking out through the crack he didn't see anyone, and peered out more. No one was coming from either direction in the hall, including the one in front of him, so he emerged from the bathroom and began walking quickly down that corridor in case anyone came he would see right away and be able to run back and take the left or right hallway. If someone came up from behind Kisho, however, then he was pretty much dead. That reminded him to keep checking behind him in case someone was following him so he could at least try and get away. _I have no idea where I'm going, or where Allen is. I think the Innocence took me to him instead of the other way around....I guess his Innocence and the one I have attracted each other....I should be trying to see if I can talk to him. I doubt I'll find him by luck—i__f I keep wandering around like this I'll get caught before __I even get close__. _Trying to concentrate while keeping his ears tuned, Kisho thought, _Allen, can you hear me?_ He felt a familiar warmth in his chest and hoped that meant he'd gotten in contact with Allen through his Innocence. But he didn't hear any reply for a few minutes and tried again. _Hey! Allen__!__ It's me, Kisho....are you here? Can you hear me?_

_.....Kisho....is that you? So you got here?_

_Yeah, somehow....I think when I tried to bring you back your Innocence called me here instead. I'm trying to find you without getting caught. Think you can help me out?_

_Well....no. I've been trapped in a room the whole time. I can move around now since I got free but the door won't open, and I've tried breaking it down about a hundred different ways but that hasn't worked either._

_....Maybe I can send Timcampy around with the Innocence to try and find you. He's smaller and could probably fly near the ceilings and not get caught. _Kisho heard surprise and relief in Allen's voice, strange since they weren't actually physically speaking to each other.

_Timcampy came with you?_

_Yeah, he snuck in my sleeve somehow....and I'm glad he did. He helped me when a skeleton thing attacked me._ Now Allen's tone was alarmed.

_A Skull? A Skull attacked you? _He demanded. _When?_

_It's called a Skull? Oh, uh, it was right after I got here. I was in a dark room and it caught me. Timcampy started biting it, and then the Innocence activated and I think the Skull got killed because it activated._

_It activated, meaning on its own?_

_Yeah. Hang on, _Kisho thought sharply, coming to a halt as he heard footsteps coming towards him. _Someone's coming. I have to hide, so wait a minute._ If Allen thought something back he didn't pay attention. Kisho looked around urgently and entered the only door that was nearby, and was glad that this one was lit and empty; and coincidentally it also happened to be a bathroom, so it had a bolt as well. He closed the door quickly but quietly, locked it, and hid so that he'd be behind it if someone could open it. After several tense moments, the footsteps approached the door....and kept going. Kisho didn't dare breathe until they'd completely faded away; when they'd gone the teenager reached a hand to his head and picked up Timcampy. "That was way too close, and if they catch me, it's over...but you can stay out of sight can't you?" The golden Golem just sat in Kisho's palms and stared up at him....at least, he thought he was. Timcampy was at least turning his body towards him. It was a little hard to see where the Golem was looking since he didn't really have eyes. _Allen._

_What's going on? _Came the sudden and urgent reply.

_I'm going to send Timcampy and the Innocence to you, _Kisho thought.

_Will he even be able to find me? And what if someone catches him?_

_....I think he'll be able to sense where you are....like what's happened with the Innocence so far. It brought me here. And if I wandered around, I'd just get caught, and the Innocence with me. So... _Kisho hesitated.

_It's the only option at this point? _Allen finished for him.

_....Pretty much...._

_Alright. And, listen--Timcampy can tunnel through walls, even if they're made of stone. He should be able to travel that way so no one sees him._

_Really? That helps! I'll send him now. Just, one thing....once you get out of here and to The Order, go ask Lavi to tell Shiori about what I told him when we were on that last mission. He'll understand, and Shiori...well, she'll have to figure the rest out herself, but..._

_What are you talking about? I'll wait until Timcampy finds me and then we'll get out of here together._

_I want to, believe me, but...._

_You're not staying here. _Allen thought angrily.

_Listen, we don't have time for this, _Kisho snapped.

_Too bad, _Allen thought smugly.

_Fine. If I don't get out tell Shiori that I'm glad I got the chance to see her again, and that...I love her. Got it?_

_Why are you talking like you're going to get killed?! _Allen practically yelled in his mind.

_You won't be able to get out of here if you're dragging me along! Just tell her!_

_What?! You little--!!_

Kisho ignored the threatening and enraged exclamations Allen was thinking to him and focused on talking to Timcampy. "Go find Allen," he instructed. "If I give you the Innocence could you use it to sense where he is and go to him? I mean, you won't get lost or anything, right?" Timcampy shuddered for a few seconds, then opened his mouth wide, showing little but pointy teeth. A menacing hiss escaped from the Golem's mouth. "Alright. Sorry to question your sense of direction...when I can't find my way around here," Kisho apologized, then put his left hand to his heart and closed his eyes. A moment later, Kisho grunted and winced as continuous sharp spasms of pain shot through his chest. Since the Innocence had merged with him, he guessed that was why it was hurting, and he tried to stand the pain but soon it became too much and Kisho passed out briefly.

Opening his eyes, Kisho blinked wearily and found Timcampy repeatedly tackling the side of his face that wasn't pressed into the floor. Painfully pushing himself to all fours Kisho looked around frantically and didn't see the Innocence fragment anywhere. "Where's the Innocence?" Timcampy made a sharp hissing noise and opened his mouth a bit; a pinkish green glow escaped before the golden Golem shut his mouth again. Kisho sighed and stood, but swayed and fell to his knees. "Great....okay....now can you find Allen?" Timcampy nodded and flew towards Kisho's hands, and he stood, then stumbled towards the door and made sure no one was coming before stepping out quickly and tossing Timcampy upwards into the air. "Stay towards the ceiling, and do whatever you can to stay out of sight." The Golem flew high into the air and began sniffing around the ceiling; suddenly Timcampy vanished, but Kisho squinted and could make out small hole in the ceiling and realized that Timcampy must have chewed through it. "Good luck," he took a moment to say to himself, then looked around warily before carefully standing and walking forward, still swaying dizzily a bit at times. He felt a little less uneasy now that Timcampy was going towards Allen but still had to try and find a way out and then go tell Allen where it was so they could escape. "I'll find him....I'll get out of here with him...." Kisho said to himself as he walked down a hall, turned left, and kept going as he tried to follow the direction that Timcampy had gone. "No....if I stay with him, I'll slow him down. I can't fight anymore. I need to just find him and make sure the Innocence gets rid of the Noah, and after that, get him out of here."

"Well, now," a voice behind Kisho said, and he turned swiftly in alarm to see a man standing in front of him with a calm but ominous look on his face. "That's pretty ambitious for someone like you. How did you get here? Have you been having a good time walking around and exploring?" Kisho clenched his teeth and snatched the straight razor from his pocket and quickly flipped the blade out. It wouldn't do him much good for long, not against this person; Kisho didn't have to think that hard about this man's identity. He was scared about being killed, but felt better about going down fighting.

"So, are you a Noah?" The man looked mildly interested.

"You've never seen a person like me, have you? Well, you're young." The Noah lifted his right hand. "That's why this is unfortunate." A butterfly-like creature materialized in the man's palm and flapped its black wings slowly. "Tell me: do you know what this is?" Kisho gazed, stone-faced, at the man and shook his head once. "No? I didn't expect you to. It's a Tease, and as for what it does," the Noah began taking slow steps towards Kisho, who began moving backward, "you'll find out soon." Kisho bumped into the wall behind him and felt his heart beating fast and hard. "Are you afraid?" The Noah asked, now inches away from Kisho, his hand and the Tease creature pressing against his chest, right over his heart. "You don't have to be. I just want to know why you're here, and where that Golem went." He asked softly.

"That's all? Really?" Kisho growled, giving the Noah a glare as he tried to keep dread from his face. Suddenly Kisho felt a chill run down his spine, and some impulse made the teenager look down. The Noah's hand wasn't pressing against his chest anymore, but was starting to go through it, although somehow there was no pain. Lifting his head, Kisho gazed at the Noah, and it was slowly dawning on him that he probably wouldn't be getting out of here. Kisho swallowed lightly and pushed the thought away, trying to keep his head clear. "Well, wouldn't you like to know."

"Oh?" The Noah asked, sounding amused. Without saying anything Kisho lifted the razor, aiming to stab it into the man's chest, but he wasn't fast enough although deep down he knew it probably wouldn't have done much damage. The Noah grabbed Kisho's left forearm and twisted violently, breaking the teenager's bone clean in half—causing him to scream in pain—and at the same time the Noah pushed the Tease into Kisho's heart. The razor he held fell from his right hand skittered a few feet away as he collapsed onto his knees, cradling his right arm, gasping heavily in shock and agony. The pain was making him retch and the Noah blinked, then made a disgusted face. When Kisho finally stopped he coughed several times, and barely struggled when a fistful of his hair was grabbed. Tykki began dragging the teenager alongside him, making sure to step around the mess so he wouldn't step in it or drag Kisho through it, thus avoiding tracking it down the hall. "Do you think that would really have hurt me?" Still cradling his arm as Tykki dragged him, Kisho couldn't hear much of anything over the rushing in his ears, and he was trying to keep his injured arm from being jostled.

"I won't....tell you...anything," he mumbled without thinking, still stunned from the pain. Tykki looked down at Kisho and narrowed his eyes.

"You'll probably change your mind and talk before I'm through with you."

* * *

**Author's Note: Well, I liked writing this chapter. I could let my creative weirdness and probably random mind go free in certain parts and it was pretty fun, especially when Kisho's roaming around and being a kleptomaniac xD An-y-way, be careful out there on the icy roads if you live in cold places, but if you don't, then be careful of the slippery rainy roads or any other conditions the weather may present and have happy and safe holidays!**


	27. Memories

**I don't own D. Gray Man or its characters...man, I just started doing that one day. Anyway, enjoy the chapter! :)**

Chapter Twenty Five - Memories

_Where...ugh...am I?_

"The Asia Branch," Lavi replied, looking back at Shiori, who was draped around Reever's shoulders. "We just got here. You've missed a few things. Komui shot you with one of his darts and you've been out cold until now."

"He couldn't hear you so he didn't know what you were acting up about," Miranda added. "You weren't just trying to stay behind to wait for Kisho. Lenalee was upset too, about Allen...is that why you were going to wait?"

_Yeah. I mean....Kisho knows we're moving and can tell Allen, but still, neither of those two know where to go....they won't be able to get to the new Order's location..._ Shiori let her head drop miserably onto her paws. _I was scared that they'd never find us when they got back...I guess it was good that Komui used his dart on me._

"I'll say," Lavi sighed. "At first you were just sitting around, but then people started trying to make you come with them and you started barking. They thought you were rabid. You should thank Reever for carrying you, by the way," the redhead finished with a slight grin and Reever looked from Shiori to Lavi with a confused expression. "It looks like he's having a hard time carrying you; ever think about losing weight?"

_I don't need to lose weight! _Shiori thought back, lifting her ears angrily and narrowing her eyes. Then she lowered her head back to her paws and sighed. _Thank you, Reever. _Lavi relayed the message to the researcher and he smiled and nodded once.

"My pleasure," he replied considerately. Shiori blinked a few times and started to feel better.

_I think I can walk now,_ she thought, and Lavi told this to Reever, who knelt and lifted the wolf from his shoulders to lightly set her on the floor. Shiori stumbled around for a few seconds, then got her balance and yawned. _Thanks,_ she thought, wagging her tail at Reever, who got the message and nodded, standing up again and resuming the walk down the hall to Bak's office. Shiori walked next to Lavi and Miranda kept walking next to Reever. They weren't the only ones in their group—Johnny was with them, and so were Emile and Camille, and two other groups of exorcists and Finders had been with them until recently; shortly after arriving at the Asia Branch they'd gone their separate ways to put their stuff away in temporary rooms and rest; some of them had just come back from missions only to discover they had to quickly get ready to leave and they were now exhausted.

Lavi gave an annoyed sigh and looked back at the wolf; Johnny was walking beside her looking concerned. Shiori's head was drooped, her ears were wilted, and she was starting to fall behind the group.

"What's got your tail in a knot?" Lavi questioned her suddenly, causing Miranda and Reever to look back, but they kept walking. The halls in the Asia Branch were pretty much deserted since everyone had been put to work trying to contact Allen via Timcampy in case the golden Golem was with him, and rooms were also being made up temporarily for the visiting exorcists, researchers, and Finders. The Main Branch members didn't leave until the next day, when the groups would split up into the groups they were currently in and take different trains to the new location of the Main Branch. By taking multiple trains, just in case anyone was attacked, all the exorcists wouldn't be in danger at the same time. Since there was a possibility the Earl and Noah already knew what they were doing, Komui hadn't wanted to take any chances.

"She seems worried...maybe she's sick...I don't know," Johnny said nervously and Lavi lifted an eyebrow at Shiori, who raised her head.

_I am worried...I know you all are, too, but I haven't been able to contact Allen or Kisho...although I guess I wouldn't be able to...wherever they are; I guess they're too far away..._

"Why could your brother contact him then?" Johnny asked when Lavi spoke aloud what Shiori had thought.

_I guess since he had part of the Heart and it was more powerful....it works like a phone...or a Golem....and speaking of Golems, Timcampy hasn't been around for a while. I wonder where he is._

"I was wondering that too," Miranda said after explaining what Shiori had thought, and looked around, wondering if the Golem would come flying towards them soon.

"He comes and goes as he pleases," the redhead responded indifferently, "there's nothing really unusual about that. Plus he usually stays with Allen, and since he's not here, the little guy's probably depressed and hiding somewhere until we leave tomorrow."

"I just hope those two are alright," Reever murmured anxiously, his arms crossed, and the group murmured agreement.

"Guess we could have sent a Golem with him so he could contact us....but no use thinking about that now...well, let's talk about something else. How long until we arrive, again?"

"We'll get to the new Order's location in a few days to a week, possibly more," Reever replied, "because departure and arrival times are different for all of us. But none of us can take the train the whole way to the new location, so for the last few miles we'll walk and everyone will meet up there—probably within a few hours of each other, or a day or two at the most."

"And we're not wearing the cross for a while?" Miranda asked, having noticed immediately that none of the exorcist's clothes had the silver Black Order cross on the chest, and that Shiori's black and silver collar had been swapped out for a brown leather one (when she mentioned it Shiori had looked startled since it had been put on when she'd been asleep but it was currently in Komui's possession) and that it had no nametag. Something else she'd noticed right away was that the exorcists weren't even wearing their usual uniforms—the women were wearing white blouses and either black or brown floor-length skirts and the men were wearing white shirts, a black jacket and pants. The Finders had also gotten rid of their typical outfits and were had put on more everyday clothing in order to blend in. Shiori had never worn a dress like the ones they were wearing and she was relieved she didn't have to now; though once she got her human form back any type of clothes would most likely feel strange to her since she hadn't worn them for a long time. Reever nodded in response to Miranda's question.

"Usually exorcists need to have Akuma drawn to them, and as you know the cross's purpose is to attract them, but the situation now is different. Tomorrow all of the exorcists in The Black Order will be in the same place. We can't afford any unnecessary conflict. We will fight Akuma if they show up—and we've warned everyone to be prepared since the cross isn't the only thing that attracts them—but Komui is trying to keep everyone safe until we've gotten situated at the new Black Order. Once we've settled in, all of the exorcists will wear their usual uniforms and missions will begin again. Attempts to contact Allen and searches for him will resume again. Contact and search attempts will also be performed for Kisho, now that he's gone, as well."

_Got it; thanks, Reever. But I have a question: where are we going now?_ Shiori asked, tilting her head curiously. Lavi, Miranda, Emile, and Camille seemed exhausted and yet they didn't seem to be heading with any of the other exorcists and Finders, who had gone to take a rest in preparation for the long trip tomorrow. Johnny and Reever, since they usually didn't get much sleep—being in the Science Branch—also seemed worn out. Lavi decided to explain what they were going to do.

"You weren't conscious when we were talking about it. Komui's talking to Bak now—Bak's the leader of the Asia Branch—and they want to talk to each of us. Lenalee's already with them now, but he wants to talk to you too, Shiori, about what happened when Kisho tried to bring Allen back." Guessing what question was on the wolf's mind Lavi spoke up when Reever had finished explaining.

"He wants to see me to hear about what happened on the mission I was on with Kikun, and he wants to talk to Emile for the same reason."

"He needs to talk to me to hear exactly what the events leading up to Allen's disappearance were, and the events afterward," Camille reported with a hint of tension in her tone. "But I doubt he'll keep me for long...I can't tell him anything that hasn't already been said. Master Han already gave Komui a report and I bet he's passed it along to Bak..." the Finder trembled, and Emile reached a hand out and set it on her shoulder; she smiled weakly up at him. "It was just terrible, the way all those Akuma appeared. I thought we were going to die, but suddenly Chaoji got us to a safe place, only then Master Walker was gone....I thought he'd been killed. I know that it wouldn't have been the first time for an exorcist to be killed, but...." Emile and the others nodded understandingly.

"From what I hear you didn't run—you wanted to make sure Allen and Chaoji got away safely and were willing to try and distract the Akuma." Camille nodded.

"Of course....that's what Finders are supposed to do—but I wanted to. They're both good people." Emile nodded gently.

"Let's go talk to Bak for now, Camille....they're doing everything they can, and we still can, too," Emile said gently, and the female Finder nodded, and soon the group found themselves inside Bak's office. Komui and the leader of the Asia Branch were talking busily with Lenalee sitting nearby but Reever cleared his throat, which caused all three people to look up, made Komui and Bak cease their conversation and rush over to the small group. Lenalee rushed over as well and looked immensely relieved to see them, although none of them had to look very hard to see the sadness pinching her smile.

"There are a few of you I haven't met," Bak said, observing the group with a serious expression. He gave friendly nods to Johnny, Bak, Lavi, and Miranda, but when his gaze fell on Emile, Camille, and Shiori he walked over to them and began studying them with a curious frown. "What are your names?" He asked. Camille and Emile stood up straighter while Shiori sat up straighter.

"I am called Emile, sir," the Finder announced promptly.

"My name is Camille, Bak, sir," the second Finder introduced herself, and the two hid a laugh behind their hands as Shiori barked sharply when they were done, causing Bak, Komui, and Miranda to jump. The two Finders immediately regained their serious expressions when Bak glanced their way, though, but shared a look of amusement when the leader of the Asia Branch broke their gaze and knelt in front of Shiori.

"And who might you be? Don't tell me—I think I have an idea as to who you are." Bak frowned, then smiled slightly and gave Shiori an interested look. "I believe a few of us here met Kisho a while back. He's your brother, correct?"

_Yes. My family adopted him a long time ago, when he was around five years old._ Lavi explained what Shiori had thought, then decided to ask her a question.

"That kid's adopted? Why didn't his last name ever change?" Lavi questioned. Shiori shrugged.

_He's a stubborn person. My mom and I told him all the time that he had been born into a different family, but probably since we adopted him so young and because he lived right next to us—we took care of him a lot—he __didn't believe us__. He thought my mom __was his__ mom, and __I was his sister__. I mean, __we _were_, but you know what I'm talking about, right?_

"He thought you'd always been blood related and said you were just messing with him," the redhead replied, nodding.

_It's not just this he's stubborn about. He still believes avidly in—mm, I shouldn't say. He'll hate me until the end of time if I tell you._ Lavi suddenly looked very interested.

"What is it? You can tell me; I swear I'll never tell him I know. Well, honestly, I might start suddenly laughing at him, but....is it Santa Claus or the Boogeyman or something?" Shiori sighed and shook her head.

_No..._

"We're only getting half of this...what are you two talking about?" Reever asked with an annoyed tone of voice. Lavi quickly filled the people who couldn't hear Shiori in, and once he had, everyone wanted to know.

"We won't stop asking, so just tell us!" Johnny pressed, giving Shiori pleading eyes, which didn't have as much as an effect as it should have because of his dizzy-eye glasses.

_No!_

"She says no," Miranda said. "But even if you two aren't related by blood, there's still not much resemblance," she said, and smiled nervously as everyone started laughing. Shiori sighed but would have been laughing too if she could.

_ Hah, hah....of course there's not much resemblance....now,_ Shiori thought, wagging her tail.

"Good one, Miranda," Reever said, winking, and Miranda blushed some more but smiled. As soon as everyone had composed themselves, Bak moved to the front of the room, gave everyone stern looks, and announced, "I have some things to talk to all of you about, but there is something important you must know now: recently we have picked up Timcampy's signature and are attempting to contact him now."

A collective intake of breath was heard. "We've made a few attempts already, and there has been no response, but we're going to keep trying. We aren't yet sure where his location is, but we're hoping that he is near or with Allen. You will all be kept posted on this situation as I know that you are all worried about Allen and Kisho." Bak looked at Lavi, Shiori, and Emile. "That is mostly what I would like to hear from you three—about Kisho, the mission, and Shiori, I'd like your account of what happened in the Infirmary. I've already heard from Komui and Lenalee." Shiori bobbed her head once and waited while Camille gave Bak her report. Once the Finder finished, she left quickly, and Miranda did shortly after as well: Bak had just asked her about how she was doing and told her she should visit the Infirmary to get checked out and she had just left, leaving Lavi, Emile, and Shiori to give their accounts of what Bak wanted to know. The three stepped up and gave each other somber glances, and Lavi launched into his account first. Emile helped with the story of what had happened, then told it from his point of view, and that left Lavi to dictate for Shiori as she explained to Bak what had happened in the Infirmary, and explained the history of Kisho's strange ability that had been amplified by the Innocence he'd synchronized with, and then amplified even further because of the Heart fragment Lavi, Emile, and he had located.

Bak, Komui, and Lenalee paid attention to every detail the exorcists and Finder gave, and when they'd exhausted every question they could think of and got all the information they wanted, Bak led them, along with Lenalee, out and showed them to the dormitories where they'd be staying for the night. Shiori said an anxious goodnight to Bak, Komui, and her friends, then went into her temporary room and flopped down on the bed. The items from her room in the Main Branch were in a neat pile near the door, and Kisho's belongings were there as well. It took her a minute to push them inside her temporary room and look through them. Most hadn't been too intriguing, since most were things that he'd had his entire life like his old hakama pants and kimono, and some were newer items he'd gotten at the Order but one item had piqued her interest; a medium-sized wooden box. It had the appearance of something that could be a present and Shiori felt a little guilty for assuming it was for her, even though her birthday _was_ coming up soon. For all her eagerness to see what was inside, she had made sure to bring it with her safely and leave it at that. It was obviously something important so she wanted to take care of it for him until he came back. Thinking of birthdays had reminded Shiori that Kisho's was in November and felt her heart throb with pain when the terrible thought entered her mind that if anything happened to her brother she wouldn't be able to celebrate it with him. The wolf curled up and tried to think of something that would keep her mind from the thought of losing her brother or Allen, and wished with everything she had that they'd come back safe.

* * *

After Kisho had suddenly broken contact with Allen, the exorcist had yelled mentally at him for what felt like forever but he had received no response. Rubbing his head, Allen was beginning to feel a little weird that he was just sitting in a room, thinking the kid's name and over. This was the second closest thing that made him feel like he was going crazy, and the first was the Fourteenth.

_All of the Noah except Skinn are here! That kid's not going to last five seconds trying to find his way around...for all I know he's been caught already! _Allen stood abruptly and headed swiftly for the door, making up his mind to use his Anti-Akuma Weapon to break it down and go find Kisho, but before he'd come within two feet of the door it unexpectedly opened inward and Allen automatically stepped back, bracing himself for whatever might be about to happen. He glared at Tykki as the Noah stepped inside and gave a mock polite smile.

"You don't look that happy to see me," the Noah, his skin dark gray, chuckled.

"Glad you figured that out, genius," Allen snapped, fists clenching. "Is that all you wanted to say? I'd probably be more entertained if I talked to a wall." Tykki shook his head slowly, still smiling. Allen observed his enemy and noticed he was standing oddly; his left arm was by his side, but the other was behind his back, like he was hiding something.

"If you aren't happy to see me...then perhaps you'd be happy to see your friend?" Allen froze and then smirked.

"What makes you think any of them are here?" He asked, but felt a chill go up and down his spine. Tykki shrugged.

"See for yourself," the Noah said, then threw someone to the floor, and Allen stiffened when he heard a pained yell.

"Does he look familiar?" Allen clenched his left hand. "You don't have the Innocence any longer, do you?" Tykki asked calmly, but he bent down and grabbed a fistful of Kisho's hair and pulled him upright. Kisho hissed in pain but didn't answer. "Very well," Tykki said, shaking his head. "Tease can just kill him like he killed that General, and that pitiful exorcist." Allen's gaze darkened and he lifted his left arm.

"Ignore him...." Kisho muttered, eyes starting to close, "....I'm....." Tykki shoved Kisho to the ground and kicked a foot into the side of his ribs.

"Shut up, brat!"

"Remember who attacked the Skull? Get him and get out of here," Kisho rasped, and was kicked in the side again.

"What's he talking about?" The Noah asked agitatedly, tearing his attention away from Kisho to glower at Allen. "Tell me. You have a minute." Allen thought furiously and tried to force the panic that was welling inside of him down.

"I'll tell you...but I have a question first. It's about Skin." Tykki's eyebrows rose and he appeared to be interested, but still looked like he was running out of patience.

"Thirty seconds."

"He died. Back in the Ark Kanda killed him. And we thought Lulubell died too." Tykki scoffed and held up his arms in annoyance.

"Noah don't die, Walker. The body of the one they inhabit dies, and then their soul leaves to find someone else's body to inhabit."

"Their soul...could that also include...." Tykki smiled unpleasantly.

"Their memories? Yes. Figured it out finally, did you? Quite honestly, it took you long enough. Lulubell was badly injured thanks to you, but she made it. And as for Skinn...we're currently searching for the one that his soul inhabited. We know his soul found a host, and it's just a matter of time before we find him. Sorry to disappoint you, but I'm afraid Noah—unlike exorcists—will always be around. Your time's up, too, I'm afraid. I imagine you had a good time running around being a good little exorcist, but that has to end." Allen ground his teeth and didn't say anything. "So tell me...does that annoying little golden Golem your friend here sent off to find you have the Innocence?" A flicker of gold above Tykki's head caught Allen's eye and even though his impulse was to look up at him, he knew that he shouldn't.

"As a...matter of fact....yeah," Kisho gritted his teeth and slowly reached his left hand into his pocket, then gripped the toothbrush and with more vigor than he should have had in his condition, stabbed the pointed end up and into Tykki's leg. The Noah grunted and stumbled slightly for a fraction of a second. Timcampy streaked over Tykki's head towards Allen, who rushed forward, then jumped and swiped him out of the air with his left hand. The instant Allen grabbed Timcampy, the Golem spat the Innocence into his right palm and the white-haired exorcist saw a bright flash of green before his Innocence activated. Bright rays of light emanated from the Innocence and the light nearly blinded him. In response to Allen's Innocence the Innocence in Allen's palm lit up and activated, then lifted into the air and floated towards Allen's face. The brightness made him squeeze his eyes tightly shut, but something urged him to open them again, and he opened his eyes, then looked around in shock as the space he was floating in was flooded with darkness. The only light was from his Anti-Akuma Weapon and the Innocence cube lighting up the space immediately around him. Dimly Allen felt himself raising his left hand towards the Innocence cube, and drawing it closer to his face to get a better look at it. White rings circled around it like any other Innocence fragment he'd seen, but in this one's nucleus a faint green and pink light pulsed dimly. That was all he was able to observe before the Innocence fragment unexpectedly vanished.

A moment later a piercing pain in Allen's left eye made him clutch the area with both hands and scream. It felt like Road had stabbed him in the eye again, and then the pain had been excruciating but now it that pain felt ten times worse and as he clutched his left eye tightly the exorcist wondered when and if the pain would ever stop. If it didn't stop, Allen felt like he'd either be driven mad by it or die because of it.

There was no way for Allen to tell how many minutes had gone by; but with the pain it felt like hours and days and he could still hear himself screaming in agony and shouting things that probably contained some plea for the pain to stop.

_"Allen."_

Allen paid the voice no heed at first, but it came again, and the third time the exorcist strained his ears to listen, relieved beyond belief to have something to try and focus on.

_"Allen."_

_ "You sound familiar......could you be....Mana?"_

_ "Mana...? My brother? No."_

_ "What? Then...you're...the Fourteenth...."_

_ "I told __Mana __I'd return to him....Noah don't die...their souls inhabit other bodies. That is how I knew I could return to him."_

_ "You wanted to inhabit his body? Your brother...why did you think you could do that? You were called a traitor by the Noah...even if you came back, wouldn't they find you? They'd kill you and your brother."_

_ "...You think you have it figured out? Don't you remember what Cross told you? My brother planned to use _you_ in order to bring me back."_

_ "No."_

_ "You're thinking it without me mentioning anything. __You should know that I can tell__."_

_ "SHUT__....__UP!"_

_ "Allen Walker...the Destroyer of Time." _A second voice suddenly filtered through the empty space, and Allen found himself immediately listening to it, as it sounded so familiar and comforting.

_ "Hevlaska," _Allen murmured, and felt himself relax a little; the Innocence Keeper's voice was sometimes eerie, but it also had the capacity to calm whoever was listening to her down.

_ "Allen....listen to me closely: Don't give into him. I told you before that the Heart would help you....it will, and is." _Allen felt warmth suddenly spread outward from his forehead and the agonizing pain from before began fading as the warmth replaced it._ "I will help you get to a place where you can recuperate and find your way home. Be strong, Allen. You won't see Akuma's souls anymore, but you don't need to worry."_

_ "Just a second...what about the...."_

_ "Allen....goodbye." _Yet another voice filtered to Allen's ears and with a jolt he realized that this voice actually was Mana's and he called out through the darkness.

_"Mana?"_

_ "I love _you_, Allen. I always did. I loved my brother, too, but I knew he was gone....and it pained me so much, but I knew that I couldn't bring him back no matter what he had told me. I may have believed him at one point—that he would come back but as time went by, I started to accept that he had died...and that was when we met and began travelling. What I wanted then wasn't my brother to come back—I wanted to take care of you. I didn't want to use you to bring him back. You were alive, and yet I almost forgot you because I was grieving for my lost brother so much even though you needed me. I thought that the memories would just disappear without anything to take hold of—a person's mind can't be taken over that easily—but I'm ashamed to admit I gave them a means. When I was an Akuma, I changed, and I'm sorry. The thoughts I had about bringing my brother back became strong...and then I wasn't strong enough to resist them. I cursed your eye and that let my brother's memories use the Dark Matter __to start__ overshadow__ing__ your memories. Don't feel ashamed about wanting to call me back—I had no right to accuse your actions. A child wants its parents; they should not be punished for that. I've felt great remorse and sorrow ever since then for what I did to you, and I hope _you'll _be able to forgive _me_, but whether or not you do...."_

_ "What are you talking about....I was scared that you weren't seeing me when you said you loved me,__ and__ that it was your brother....but...." _Mana continued as if Allen hadn't spoken.

_"Allen, listen __to me.__ Your curse is gone."_

_ "It's...gone?"_

_ "Yes. And the Fourteenth's memories will just fade away, like a bad dream.__" _That was Hevlaska's voice._"__You're yourself now, and the Fourteenth Noah is finally gone. Rest assured that he won't come back like the others.__ Now, i__t's time to wake up, Allen."_

* * *

**Well, hope everyone's having a good holiday. And Happy Birthday to people who have a birthday today!**

** Allen: Like me.**

** Me: Yes. Happy Birthday to you too!**


	28. Release

**Oh, it's been a nice break from classes. I've been busy writing but mostly busy chilling out and enjoying the winter….it's been fun although the snow where I am isn't that good at making snowballs and my snowcat melted a while ago :(**

**Kanda: You are a strange person.**

**Me: That's already been established. Now, for the next chapter! And those of you who might be reading my other story for Tales of Legendia I am still working on it…I've just been paying more attention to this story. But I have not given up on writing it, and either tomorrow or the next few days I'll put a new chapter up. Ok, the characters, names, places, and the story of D. Gray Man I don't own. Enjoy! :)**

Chapter Twenty Six - Release

The first thing Allen saw when he opened his eyes were tree branches against a clear blue sky. He tried to sit up, but groaned and fell backward in pain. His whole body hurt but mainly his left ankle, back, and left eye were big knots of pain. His gray-blue eyes stared up at the sky again and he saw that light pink and red streaks were spreading slowly over the sky as the light blue darkened gradually. That meant the sun was setting, though he still didn't know exactly what time it was, or where he currently was.

_Wait. What happened to me? _For some reason his mind was temporarily blank about recent events. Allen forced himself to try and sit up and as he did, he became aware that there was a strange pressure on his forehead. Even though his body sang with pain at the movement, the exorcist moved to a sitting position and saw a bright blur fall past his eyes. Raising his right hand quickly Allen caught the object in his palm and studied it. Blinking, he watched the thing shake itself and fly into the air. "Timcampy!" Allen exclaimed, feeling the name automatically come to his mind and he laughed as the Golem flew around. "Good to see you, too!" Timcampy made a growling noise and suddenly did a nosedive, landing a few yards away. The exorcist looked over at the Golem, blinked once, then let out a startled exclamation. Timcampy was sitting on someone lying on the grass. It was a kid, looking to be in his early teenage years, and Allen shifted to all fours and crawled over to him, dragging his injured leg behind him. Leaning over the person, Allen wondered why he was here, and began observing his physical features: light brown, messy hair, a black outfit, and it looked like he was injured. "Who are you?" Lightly fingering the kid's right arm, Allen realized shortly that it was broken. "And what happened to you?" Just then it struck him who this person was and memories of what had taken place flooded back.

"...Kisho," he muttered, shaking the teenager by his uninjured shoulder. "Can you hear me? You're not dead, are you?" He asked, staring hollowly at the kid's body. If he was dead, then....Allen tried to calm down and took a few deep breaths, leaned over Kisho's mouth, and waited to feel air escaping. After a few seconds he felt a light breath brush against his ear. Straightening his back Allen noticed that Kisho's chest was rising and falling and then lifted the kid's left arm and noticed that a toothbrush was clenched in his hand. He suddenly remembered Kisho attacking Tykki with it and wondered where he'd gotten it. Taking the item from his hand Allen put it in Kisho's pocket, then went back to checking for a pulse, and soon felt it beating against his fingers. To be sure Allen put his hand on Kisho's chest to feel his heartbeat, and when he felt the rhythmic beats against his palm and let out a sigh of relief. "You're alive....I thought that you'd been killed." A memory of the Heart fragment sending rays of light everywhere came back to Allen. "....Maybe the Innocence healed you...like it did for me. Well, you're alive." _I need to figure out where we are now, though._ Glancing about, Allen noticed suddenly that the sun's light was a little dimmer than before, and the sky was turning red and orange now—sunset. Further observing his surroundings Allen noticed they seemed to be at the edge of a forest, for just a few feet away a large expanse of trees stretched out a long way to his left and right. It wasn't anywhere that looked familiar; neither the Main Branch or the Asia Branch had trees like this around. But they were out of the Noah's Headquarters, and there seemed to be no immediate danger, which was all Allen wanted to know at the moment.

A groan brought his attention away from the scenery and back down to Kisho, who was beginning to stir and as Allen watched his dark brown eyes opened and gazed up at him wearily. "Hey," Allen greeted him, feeling strangely lighthearted despite every hectic and trying thing that had happened recently, "how do you feel?" Kisho didn't respond for a while; he just groaned some more and closed his eyes. Allen almost started shaking him again but noticed that he was still breathing normally and didn't seem to be dying. After a while, the kid opened his eyes again and tried to sit up. Allen put a hand on Kisho's back and helped him get to a sitting position. "How do you feel?" The exorcist asked again. Timcampy flew around Allen's head once and then nestled in his hair. Kisho winced and cradled his injured right arm with his left.

"I feel...ugh....feel like....someone almost...beat me to death. And my arm...." He winced, then gingerly touched it and flinched in pain.

"It's broken," Allen said, frowning grimly. "And if it isn't set right now it will probably heal wrong and I don't know if there's a town with someone who could help nearby."

"So, what, you're going to set it?" Kisho asked, and Allen was taken aback by his harsh tone and distrusting stare, but guessed his mood was because his arm was giving him so much pain. And Allen had suddenly noticed even against Kisho's dark shirt that something deep red and wet was staining it.

"Well, unless you want Komui to have to re-break and fix it later," he said with a look of warning, remembering hearing somewhere that if a bone wasn't set right, it would never heal well enough so often doctors would break it again in order to set it correctly.

"You know Komui?" Kisho asked, interested, trying to forget what Allen said about the re-breaking. "I mean...how'd you know his name? Are you an exorcist too?" Allen was becoming very puzzled and he gave Kisho a concerned look.

"What are you talking about; of course I'm an exorcist. Did you get amnesia or something?" Allen questioned, raising an eyebrow at Kisho, who looked closely at him.

"I don't have amnesia. But if you're an exorcist..." The wariness was disappearing from Kisho's face, though he was still trying to inch away from Allen, who suddenly gripped Kisho's unhurt shoulder tightly so he'd stay still.

"Why are you acting like you've never met me before? And I just want to help you." Kisho was still struggling a little, and Allen had finally reached the end of his rope. "For God's sake!" He exclaimed in exasperation. "Are you sure you don't have amnesia?" Kisho nodded slowly, giving Allen a wary look. Staring at Kisho seriously, he asked, "You really don't know me?"

"I guess you look a little familiar, but I haven't seen you before."

"Allen Walker. Does that ring any bells?" Allen asked sarcastically and was again puzzled and annoyed by the reaction he got; Kisho's eyes widened disbelievingly.

"Allen? You're really Allen? But...." Allen covered Kisho's mouth and cut him off.

"I don't know what got into you, but you know it's me now, right?" Kisho nodded slowly, his expression now confused but less wary. "Alright. Then just let me check that injury and try and fix your arm." Kisho stiffened when Allen lifted his shirt. "You got attacked by an Akuma on the mission with Lavi, right?"

"Yes...."

Allen saw that bandages were wrapped around Kisho's waist. "What happened when you were attacked, exactly?" Allen asked, seeing that the dark wetness showing through Kisho's shirt had been blood like he'd thought and more red spots were spreading across the white bandages.

"An Akuma grabbed me with its teeth...it bit my side, and my leg. Then Tykki reopened that injury and broke my arm....my writing arm," Kisho fumed, despite the pain in his arm that was making him want to pass out. "My left arm's writing looks like cat scratch." He wished he could pass out so he'd be unconscious when Allen attempted to fix his arm.

"Right...well, the bleeding doesn't look too serious right now, but I need to fix your arm and use something to wrap it until we can get help somewhere." Kisho closed his eyes and his eyebrows dipped irritably. Slowly, the young teenager stopped cradling his right arm and took a deep breath. "I have an idea," Allen began to explain. "I'll activate my Innocence and use Clown Belt to bandage your arm when I'm done." Kisho had heard of Allen's Innocence and what it did so he nodded. "And since we're by a forest there are probably twigs for splints around here."

"Great," Kisho grumbled sourly, then looked slightly apologetic. "Sorry. I'll probably be yelling at you while you're setting it, so I'll just say thanks now." Allen nodded, and looked away.

"Can you stand up?" He asked, and Kisho stood with the help of Allen and leaned against a tree that was behind him. "Great," Allen said, then without giving any warning activated his Innocence and used Clown Belt to tie a startled Kisho to the tree until he was completely immobilized except for his right arm, which Allen held in his hands as he studied the bruised and swelling arm for a few moments. "I think this is actually good."

"Yeah," Kisho panted, winded from being knocked against the tree suddenly, "really good." Allen gave him a look as he caught the sarcastic tone.

"I mean," Allen said in slight annoyance, "it seems like a clean break, so it's easier to deal with than if the bone was poking through your skin. And sorry for not warning you, but it'll just be easier for both of us the less you thrash around." Kisho sighed, nodding, seeing the sense in Allen's reasoning. "It'll hurt—I'm sorry—but that's better than having it heal wrong." In trepidation, Kisho nodded, trying to brace himself for the pain. "Alright....here we go." Allen pressed his fingers into Kisho's skin a few times, trying to feel where the break was, and Kisho bit his lip as spears of pain shot through his arm. Suddenly Allen thought he felt the spot where his friend's bone had broken in half and began pulling and pushing the arm alternatingly. Kisho yelled in agony as the pain in his arm suddenly increased and jolted through his body.

"Oww....I....aaghh....stop it!!" Kisho cried, half in a fever, trying in vain to struggle against the Clown Belt. Allen's eyes widened but he tried to calm the pain-stricken teenager down while he kept readjusting the bone as best he could.

"Hey, I'm almost done! So just stay with me until then." But Kisho didn't appear to be listening. "Kisho, listen—before why didn't you recognize me?" Allen asked, trying to bring up something that would distract Kisho from the pain setting his arm was causing. The teenager opened his eyes halfway and moaned, then took a deep breath and struggled to answer.

"Y-your...aaahh....h-hair....and...." Kisho gasped out, then stopped straining against the Clown Belt and went still. It appeared that he'd passed out from the pain, although this made Allen's job easier and he continued moving Kisho's arm, trying hard to set the bone. A few minutes later the exorcist was beginning to give into the panic welling inside him, since he had no idea if he was setting it right, when suddenly he felt and heard a slight click and the teenager's arm finally looked like it was at a fairly normal angle again, though it was still swollen. Holding Kisho's arm with his left hand Allen looked around urgently and saw a pile of twigs a few yards away.

"Hey, Timcampy, go get a twig for me, got it? One that's straight and long enough." The Golem flew from the top of Allen's head, sniffed around the twig pile for a few moments, then bit one in his teeth and shot back to the exorcist who caught the twig as Timcampy dropped it. Setting it firmly but carefully against Kisho's arm, he used another strip of Clown Belt to wrap around it and hold the twig in place. Then, holding the broken arm with his right hand, Allen used his claws to cut the Clown Belt strip and finish wrapping, then tucked the loose end under a section of the makeshift cast. Then he used Clown Belt one last time to make a sling for Kisho's arm, and when he was satisfied it would hold, he cut the strip and supported Kisho as he released the teenager from the tree. He deactivated his Innocence and knelt down, turned, and picked Kisho up so he could carry him piggyback style. Hardly believing he'd actually set a bone with no medical experience, Allen began walking along the forest's edge, keeping his eyes and ears peeled for any danger. But he was also thinking about what Kisho had said right before he'd passed out. "What about my hair?" He mumbled quietly to himself, thinking that if it was still long he could have checked to see what was strange about it.

His hair _had_ been long a while ago, but ever since an Akuma had seen it as an opportunity to grab and swing him around by it, Allen had vowed that if he lived through that he'd be sure to keep his hair short from then on. He had survived, obviously, and Kanda—who had been paired with Allen on that mission—had offered to cut it with Mugen after the mission was over but Allen had of course turned him down and later given himself a haircut, using the transformed claws on his left hand. The downside was that his hair looked like Timcampy had decided to haphazardly chew it all off, and even though it had been a while since that mission, Kanda still brought the incident up whenever he could. The swordsman's favorite taunt in particular was asking whether or not Allen had donated the leftover hair to be made into old men's wigs. Lavi would sometimes join in on the teasing, which annoyed Allen and even Kanda. Since then, though, Allen's hair had evened out slightly and now just barely reached the bottom of his ears.

As he walked Allen found that despite his injuries he felt pretty good. His sprained ankle was slowing him down a little—the thick bandage the Noah had put on his ankle were causing him to walk a little awkwardly—but it was something Allen was grudgingly thankful to the Noah Clan for. They'd put a brace for the sprain and bandage for the cut on his left ankle, and the pain of both injuries wasn't that bad anymore. It seemed they'd also done something to treat the burn on his back from an Akuma bullet, for it wasn't throbbing as much. Still following the edge of the forest, Allen started scanning the area for a town or a body of water. He soon spotted the latter and eagerly walked up to it, moving pretty fast even though his leg was slowing him down. Kneeling awkwardly at the lake's edge, the exorcist looked into the water's surface and gazed at the image of himself he hadn't seen for years.

His reflection looked so unfamiliar after years of seeing himself with white hair and the red scar over his left eye that at first he didn't believe it could be him and thought that he must be seeing things. He was startled to see himself the way he'd been as a kid all those years ago. But gradually the exorcist realized that this reflection was really him. Bit by bit Allen realized that he must have given up on even seeing himself like this again, must never have thought his curse would go away....never thought that he'd be forgiven for what he'd done to Mana. But the lake plainly showed Allen that his hair was brownish-red, and his left eye was now exactly the same as his right; the red pentacle and scar were gone. The only thing of import Allen saw was Timcampy still curled up in his brown hair...it felt strange looking at it and even thinking that his hair was brown, not white, and also that his eye really wasn't cursed anymore. Finally Kisho's strange reactions towards him made sense...Allen looked completely different, and the only person who'd seen him with his original hair color had been Mana....and probably his parents, but they'd abandoned him as a baby and he doubted they'd recognize him now.

For a moment Allen felt dismayed, since without his cursed eye he couldn't tell who was an Akuma, but he suddenly remembered that Lavi had told him most exorcists had to get along without knowing who was or wasn't an Akuma...and Hevlaska had told him not to worry. Allen inhaled deeply, then let the breath out. He could handle this—plus, it seemed a small price to pay for getting rid of the Fourteenth Noah that had almost taken over his mind and body. Even better than that was the fact that Allen finally knew that Mana had forgiven him, and loved him, not because he'd had his brother's memories.

"The Heart fragment got rid of the curse...and the Fourteenth Noah. I'm...back to normal now. And I won't have to hurt any of my friends..." Allen murmured, then jolted when a voice spoke close to his ear, but he quickly realized it was Kisho who seemed to have woken up.

"Wha....what's going on?" Kisho asked, but Allen could tell he was actually more asleep than awake.

"Nothing," the exorcist replied, then stood and turned away from the lake. "I said we should find somewhere safe to stay...if we can, that is. With luck there's a non-Akuma infested town nearby...and I can ask which country we're in."

"Sounds great," Kisho mumbled, and Allen rose to his feet and set off again. Kisho's head was resting on Allen's left shoulder and slow breathing in his ear indicated that he was asleep. Allen sighed and kept walking along the forest's edge, searching for a town while keeping his ears and eyes peeled for any danger. After about three hours of walking, the sun was beating down on Allen and sweat was pouring down his face and his shirt felt damp and sticky. A few minutes ago he'd looked up and seen the faint outline of buildings and was heading quickly towards them, but the next step he took his legs buckled and he fell forward onto one knee. Panting heavily Allen tried to stand but just collapsed again. "That's....it...I need to...rest..." He wheezed, and managed to crawl into the forest a bit until he found a patch of shade. He set Kisho, who was still asleep, against a tree and then reclined against the bark of a tree opposite Kisho's. Timcampy flew around and began flapping his wings in Allen's face and he sighed as the breeze cooled him off a tiny bit. "You're lucky, you know that....always hitching rides on my head..." Allen stretched a leg out and nudged Kisho's shoe with his a few times, and soon Kisho stirred and opened his eyes. "You look a little better than before. How are you doing?" Kisho yawned, then sat up straighter and looked around.

"I feel better—my arm still hurts, but...." he noticed the sling and bandage around his arm, "it's better than before....thanks." Allen grinned and nodded.

"Really? I must have done a good job, then."

"Yeah." Glancing around Kisho asked, "Where are we?" Allen shook his head.

"I don't know, but there's a town nearby, and after I take a rest I'm going to head for it again. Do you think you can walk there this time?" Kisho nodded.

"Yeah, I think so. Thanks for...." Kisho yawned, "carrying me." He finished, rubbing his eyes, but was looking more alert with each passing second. Allen nodded once.

"Yeah," the exorcist replied, frowning slightly in thought. "You still know who I am, I hope."

"You're Allen. But I really didn't know it was you for a while there...you looked strange with brown hair," Kisho commented, remembering. "So how'd that happen? The mark that was on your eye, I mean." Allen answered but gave an abridged explanation.

"I was cursed—the scar and my eye were part of that curse. The Innocence got rid of the Dark Matter that it was made up of. Make sense so far?" Allen asked, and Kisho nodded once.

"Yeah," he replied, agreeing, then asked curiously, "But what happened to your hair?" Allen gave him a look.

"I dyed it," he answered and Kisho raised his eyebrows, then laughed.

"Really?" he asked sincerely, but was grinning.

"No, not really!" Allen snapped. "My hair was brown before my eye got cursed," Allen sighed, holding his face in his hand. "Wise guy..." he muttered, then took a breath and explained, "You brought the Heart Innocence fragment, gave it to me....remember that much?" He paused to make sure Kisho was following him, and saw that the past events were coming back to the teenager.

"Yeah...I remember. I gave the Innocence to Timcampy and he tunneled through the ceiling looking for you. If I could communicate mentally with you, and sense that you were around, I thought if Timcampy had it he would be able to go find you. And I'm glad I sent it with him, because that Noah guy...." Kisho's eyes suddenly flew wide and he grabbed at his heart. "Wait a second...how am I not dead? Or am I still going to die?" Allen leaned forward, held out a hand and shook his head quickly, trying to calm him down.

"You're not dead, and you're not going to die. The Heart destroyed that Tease and healed you." Kisho looked up and took a deep breath.

"You think so?" He asked, sounding immensely relieved, and Allen sighed and reclined back against the tree.

"I know so," Allen replied, tilting his head back to gaze up at the sky. "My Innocence did the same thing for me a long time ago when Tykki used Tease on me. There was a hole in my heart but my Innocence sealed it up and saved my life." Kisho looked taken aback.

"Whoa...and...the Innocence did the same thing to me, too?" He asked in wonder, putting a hand to his heart, feeling dizzy with relief that he was alive.

"It must have...otherwise, I don't know how you're still here," Allen replied, then closed his eyes and was dozing comfortably when he heard Kisho saying his name. Opening his eyes halfway Allen yawned and asked tiredly, "What?"

"Allen....um....sorry," Kisho said abruptly, lowering his head. Allen was more than a little puzzled.

"Why are you apologizing?" Kisho didn't raise his head.

"I got caught back there, and if something had gone wrong, we would both have been done for. I didn't really plan things out, so I messed up again." Allen shook his head and gave Kisho a perplexed look.

"I'm not sure what you're talking about. What do you mean again?" The exorcist asked.

"Well....on the mission with Lavi and Emile, they told me I found that Heart fragment. Later I had the feeling I needed to get it to you no matter what. But if I had given it to you just as it was, then there's a chance it would have just destroyed the Noah....and you. Hevlaska merged it with my Innocence later on and she said that it had become a more stable form but still powerful form that would just get rid of the Noah and not hurt you."

"So....wait, I remember you told me that you weren't an Accommodator anymore," Allen said, starting to understand what was bothering the other person.

"Yes, and that's why, after my Anti-Akuma Weapon was destroyed, Hevlaska didn't remake it," Kisho explained, looking uneasy, "and I knew that I wouldn't be able to help you fight, so I had a plan to get the Innocence to you....and then only have you escape if there was no chance that I could. I thought there was no chance that I could. Didn't I say that before?" Kisho looked down. "You'd have your hands full enough trying to get yourself out. I figured it'd be hard enough without someone slowing you down." Kisho slammed into the ground as the force of Allen's fist connecting with his face knocked him sideways. He grunted in pain but had luckily landed on his left side, avoiding jarring his broken arm. Rising to his knees, Kisho touched the right side of his face where Allen had punched him and drew in a sharp breath as his face stung. "Ow...hey, if you break my jaw, think you could fix it?" Suddenly Allen grabbed Kisho's shirt collar and yanked him to his feet. The fourteen-year-old got a glimpse of Allen's face and immediately went still—the older exorcist looked ready to strangle him.

"You _were_ just going to let yourself die there! What if you'd never seen your sister or anyone else again? Did you think that was okay?!" Allen shook Kisho roughly a few times.

"I didn't plan to at first!" Kisho yelled desperately, trying to get his intention across. "But the more I was there, the more I realized that it would be hard even for two exorcists to get out—and you were the only exorcist there. I didn't just decide, 'Hey, I think I'll get myself killed today!'"

"Why was it so important for only me to get out?" Allen raised his fist again. "Tell me!"

"I didn't want it to end that way!" Kisho yelled, bracing himself. "And I knew that it'd work....I had to do something." Allen shook Kisho roughly, his expression fierce with anger.

"But why'd you want to help me? You haven't known me that long." Kisho looked down, then back up, figuring he might as well tell the truth.

"Don't put me that low. I've known you long enough to want to help you out. What kind of person would I be if I had just ignored you and left you to be tortured by those guys when I was completely able to do something? We're on the same side, so that makes us comrades. If I hadn't tried to help, then I might as well have joined the Earl's side." Allen ground his teeth, and Kisho rubbed his forehead. "Listen. You have a lot of friends, and any idiot could see they were worried about you...." Kisho paused and smirked slightly. "....and I just happened to be the idiot who could fix things. Lenalee especially was worried...she wasn't eating or sleeping for a while." At the mention of that name Allen froze and his expression became uncomfortable but concerned.

"Lenalee...." Kisho nodded.

"Right....and just so you know, she talked to me and Shiori a few days ago and asked me if I could try to bring you back. You know that I did before—you, Kanda, and Shiori—so she was hoping that it would work again. I told her I wasn't sure but that I'd try. Shiori got mad at me, too, because I started talking about letting the Noah catch me in the off-chance that they'd take me to where you were and from there I could try to escape, find you, and give you the Heart fragment."

"That wouldn't have worked. They'd have just killed you," Allen muttered, and Kisho gave a contrite smile.

"Shiori thought so too, but she didn't punch me—she almost bit my face off," Kisho laughed again, and Allen slowly released his grip on the kid's shirt and let him go. "Lenalee was....really upset when you went missing. Like I said she didn't sleep or eat for a while. When she asked me if I could do anything..." Kisho looked down and broke off awkwardly.

"...You knew that she was asking as a friend....you wanted her to get back to normal...and couldn't say no."

"....Yeah," Kisho admitted, scuffing the ground with the toe of his shoe. "People say I let people in too easily, and maybe they're right, but somehow that just might be how I am. I think because I lived with Shiori I could trust people—not so much that I'd fall for anything, but...anyway, I had to change that a little when I joined The Black Order," he admitted. Allen noticed suddenly that it the sun had started to go down and darkness was beginning to fall.

"We should get going to that town and be quick about it—but we both need to watch out for any suspicious people...I can't tell who's an Akuma anymore since my cursed eye is gone." Kisho nodded, turned, and set off with Allen towards the town. A few minutes later they saw dim glows of lamps shining through windows and they hurried, only seconds from entering the town. "Alright, now, an inn...where's an inn...." Allen muttered, quickly glancing around town for a telltale sign that would indicate a place to rest. It wasn't pitch dark but it was dark enough for Allen and Kisho to have trouble seeing clearly where things were. Allen had an idea suddenly and picked up Timcampy.

"Can he see in the dark?" Kisho questioned curiously, wondering again exactly where Timcampy's eyes were, and Allen made a shushing motion.

"Yeah, so I'm going to send him to find a sign or building that's an inn, and when he finds one, he can come back to us and show us where it is." Now speaking to Timcampy, Allen instructed, "Do you understand? Go find an inn, make sure it looks safe, then come back as fast as you can. We'll be waiting right here." The Golem flew upwards out of Allen's palms and after hovering in the air for a few seconds, he shot off and soon vanished from sight. The two boys sighed and began looking around the town while they waited, trying to figure out which country they were in. From what they could see in the dark, the buildings around them looked to have slightly slanted roofs. They could barely make out that the buildings had lots of windows on them, all close together. Kisho squinted at them through the darkness and frowned; they seemed familiar, somehow, but it was too dark to see any more details and although he wanted to move closer and get a better look he knew it wouldn't be a good idea to move. "You keep staring over there," Allen commented, giving Kisho a questioning look. "Is there something there?"

"No," Kisho replied, shaking his head, "this place just seems a little familiar to me, from what I can see of the place."

"Maybe you've been here before," Allen said, but suddenly looked up as he heard the sound of wings flapping lightly, and a moment later Timcampy fell into his outstretched hands. "Find anything?" The golden Golem's mouth gaped open and a faint beam of light came from it and soon an image was being projected into the air. Allen and Kisho leaned closer to get a good look as a blurry image appeared. It looked like something was written on the surface of something else but Allen couldn't make it out. Kisho, however, was looking hard at the writing and mumbling words out loud as he tried to make sense of them.

_"Traveler....store....journey....?"_ Allen gave Kisho a puzzled look.

"What in the world are you saying? Is that Chinese?" He asked, then suddenly remembered something. "Wait, you learned some at the Asia Branch, didn't you?"

_ "_Yeah, and I know what this says now. Timcampy found an inn," he said, looking up at Allen, who looked from Timcampy to Kisho, impressed. "I think I know why this town's a little familiar—I might have come here with Shifu, Likei, and Lo Hua few times...that's when they taught me most of my Chinese...we went to stores or had conversations with people and they wouldn't help me say the right thing, I'd have to on my...." Allen was staring at Kisho with a 'be quiet' look and the teenager stopped rambling, abruptly getting what being in a Chinese town might mean. "We could be near the Asia Branch!"


	29. Haven

**Allen: Something smells good….**

**Shiori: But also…bad….**

**Allen: Is someone crying?**

**Me: It's…these….stupid onions. I seriously cannot see out of my left eye.**

**Shiori: Mmm, you're making curry.**

**Me: Yeah. I got a Japanese cookbook for a present. Um, hey, would either of you mind chopping the rest of these onions? I can't take it anymore.**

**Allen: Don't give up! Beat the onions! And I want some curry.**

**Me: Okay…but now I can't see out of either eye…that's enough onions. Sniff….ugh….I don't own D. Gray Man or its characters, or all the food Allen ordered in Volume 1, though it would have been fun to cook some of it. Hope everyone's enjoying the holidays! :)**

Chapter 27 - Haven

Allen and Kisho couldn't believe it—Hevlaska had transported them somewhere safe and now it was just a matter of playing their cards right so they could find the Asia Branch. "I can't tell you how glad I am that you know some Chinese. It saved us a few hours of being lost while checking every building around here."

"Me too," Kisho said, grinning slightly, but suddenly his expression became uncomfortable. "Does this mean you want me to go talk to the guy running that inn?"

"Yes. You're not getting off that easily," Allen replied, and began dragging Kisho along behind him as Timcampy flew off to show the way.

"Wait! I don't know that much; I just barely started learning conversational Chinese!" Kisho began struggling in vain to get free but with a swift tug of his arm Allen yanked him around so that the young teenager was standing in front of him.

"Maybe there's an off-chance the guy speaks English but I wouldn't count on it, so stop making excuses and talk to him, because this is kind of important!" Allen hissed as Timcampy flew towards a building and hovered by its entrance. Allen shoved Kisho through the door after pushing and holding it open with one hand. A man sitting behind a small red bamboo desk looked up in surprise and stood as Kisho stumbled inside with a startled grunt. Outside, Allen smacked his palm into his forehead, then walked inside nonchalantly as Kisho smiled apologetically at the man, trying to confirm that they weren't troublemakers.

_"I'm very sorry, sir,"_ Kisho said as best he could, and felt a sense of relief when the man's anxious expression became calmer and he sat back down at the desk and watched as Kisho and Allen approached it. _"__We'd like a lion. __Do you..._umm..._have any?" _Kisho asked, and froze when the innkeeper gave him a dubious look.

_"Any lions?" _He asked, confused, and after a moment or two Kisho realized too late what he must have done wrong. Suddenly Allen gave his comrade a sharp nudge in the ribs.

"What's going on? Status update please."

"I think I used the wrong tone! Let me try again...." Clearing his throat, Kisho prayed he would say the right word this time and said, _"I'm sorry, I meant, __we'd like a room. Are there any vacant now?__"_

_"Oh, rooms," _the clerk said, and laughed once._ "Yes, __several rooms are unoccupied. Would you like a single room? The rooms free now have two separate beds.__"_

_"Umm....yes," _Kisho said, trying not to blank on all the Chinese he'd learned. _"Thank you."_

_"Sir, the rate per night is __409__ a night," _the man told Kisho politely, and he froze.

"This is bad," the fourteen-year-old said, and Allen elbowed him again.

"What's bad? Mind giving me a translation?" The exorcist demanded.

"Money," Kisho said in dismay. "It's 409 a night in local currency."

"So...is that a lot?" Allen asked, unsure what the conversions were.

"Yes....and I don't have any money..." Kisho groaned quietly. "I don't even have any from my own country..."

"I don't have any money either....well, let's just....try this." Allen had an idea and pointed to the silver cross over his breast pocket and hoped the clerk would go for it; the man looked at it closely, furrowed his brow, then widened his eyes. He looked at Kisho and also spotted the silver cross on his uniform and looked pleased, not noticing the slight wince on the younger male's face.

"Exorcists?" The clerk exclaimed, and Allen nodded while Kisho bit his lip. The clerk began talking warmly and although his words flew over Allen and Kisho's heads they understood his gestures and followed him up the stairs, into a hallway, and watched as he opened the fourth door on the right. _"I didn't realize that you were exorcists_," the man said, _"so feel free to stay here with no charge."_

_"Really?" Kisho asked. "We just need to stay one night...but is that really...." _He asked, bewildered things had suddenly turned in their favor.

_"Of course," _the clerk replied kindly. _"Let me go get your room ready." _The man hurried off down the hall and Kisho turned quickly towards Allen, who was waiting for a translation.

"He said we can stay without paying—he just noticed we're—uh, you—" Kisho quickly corrected himself, "are an exorcist. He just went to....get our rooms ready...I think."

"Do you think this is alright?" Allen asked quietly, looking around the room suspiciously, even if they were by themselves. "I mean, for all we know about him, he could be an Akuma. And speaking of Akuma, there could be some here, and we're not in any position to fight them....you least of all."

"I'll ask him when he gets back," Kisho said, and after waiting four or five minutes the clerk hurried back.

_"Excuse me, but are there Akuma here now?" _The clerk's eyes widened.

_"Akuma—yes, there have been attacks recently. We hoped exorcists would be sent here to come and get rid of them....this is rude of me, since you are guests, but...could I trouble you and request that you destroy them?"_

"He's asking if we could fight the Akuma," Kisho told Allen, "probably." Allen winced.

"We couldn't possibly on our own. Ask if he has a phone for exorcists anywhere."

_"Sorry, but do you have a phone?" _Kisho asked, and the man nodded and gestured to a room adjacent the one they were in now.

_"We do. Though not often, we have had exorcists come here before, so we decided to get a phone specifically for their use. Feel free to use it, sir," _the clerk said politely and Kisho nodded gratefully.

_"Thank you."_ Turning towards Allen, Kisho pointed to the room. "There's a phone in there and he said we could use it. Apparently exorcists have come here before."

"Great," Allen said, and entered the room, spotted the phone and hooked Timcampy up to the phone line. Detaching the wire was easy, which meant the phone had probably been used by exorcists before, and he stuck it the end in Timcampy's mouth. Since Komui was moving to another branch, Allen decided to contact the Asia Branch and hoped someone would pick up. "Come on, Timcampy...and come on, someone over there...pick up already!" Static fizzled over the connection and Allen gave a frustrated sigh. "Come on, pick up! We're in need of help here," Allen said, his face close to Timcampy's, and the golden Golem must not have liked it because he opened his mouth slightly, then bit Allen's nose. Kisho jumped as the older teenager let out a pained yelp.

_"Is everything alright?" _Kisho heard the clerk call from outside.

_"We're fine, there's nothing to worry about."_ Allen and Kisho froze when an angry-sounding male voice filtered through the connection.

_"Who's doing that? Our Golems are going crazy, so if someone's just messing around, I'll find out who it is and make you clean the whole Branch!"_

"No!" Allen practically yelled, worried that if the person hung up he wouldn't be able to contact him again. "It's not a prank! Is this the Asia Branch?"

_"....Yes," _the voice replied warily, _"but who, may I ask, is this? There shouldn't be any exorcists out on missions now and those who are should be on their way back." _Allen was about to explain hurriedly but a different voice suddenly crackled over the transmission.

_"Who are you talking to?"_

"Bak?" Allen exclaimed, recognizing the new speaker instantly.

_"Allen!?"_

"Yes, it's me!" Allen replied eagerly. "Kisho and I are together."

_"You're both safe? Thank god....hold on, we're tracking Timcampy's signal now. What's your current situation?"_

"We think we're somewhere close to the Asia Branch, and we just got to a town's inn, and Kisho thinks he's been here before. The clerk wants us to stay and get rid of some Akuma. None have shown up yet but we're both tired and injured....and Kisho doesn't have his Anti-Akuma Weapon anymore. If any Akuma higher than Level Two show up we could be in trouble."

_"I understand. Once we get your location—it shouldn't be too long now—we'll send exorcists out to take your place. Also, we'll bring you back on the train they arrive on. Don't worry about tickets—we'll take care of everything."_

"Thanks, Bak....thanks a lot," Allen breathed, feeling a huge weight lift from his chest.

_"Just hang on until we get there. We got your location; you are around twenty-five miles from the Asia Branch. The town you're in is called Wuhan—you're in Hubei province."_

"Hevlaska practically dropped us off at your doorstep," Allen commented in wonder, but broke out of his thoughts when Bak began speaking again.

_"You'll have to take a train in Wuhan to the city closest to the Asia Branch__, __then get off and walk the last few miles. Anyway, if that town does have an Akuma problem, even if things are calm at the moment, I'm sure you know things could become __dangerous __in no time. Akuma also like to come out around nightfall so don't go outside unless it's absolutely necessary. You could even be in danger now, so stay alert. If Akuma attack, run and get someplace safe." _There was a pause, then: _"We just deployed __four__ exorcists__, and they're coming by train. __They'll be there __soon, and one will escort you back to the Asia Branch. Her name's Hyun-Ae."_

"Got it. There is still no sign of Akuma...we're going to go up to our room now and get some rest."

_"Be careful. And Allen, exorcists from the Main Branch were here until just recently. Lavi, Miranda, Lenalee, and Shiori left just a while ago for the new Order's location. Johnny and Reever left with them too. Komui went back too so he could make sure everyone was alright and that things could get off to a smooth start. He wanted to stay so he could help treat your injuries__ when you got back__." _Allen clenched his fists and went stiff with dismay.

"Anything but that," he growled through clenched teeth.

_"__I thought you'd feel that way...so__ I told him we'd be fine if he went back. __But he'll probably want to give you a checkup when you get back. He doesn't know that you escaped the Noah yet, but I bet he'll want to make sure you're both alright." _Allen gave a short groan and Kisho had begun to feel a little anxious because of Allen's reaction; what treatments were in for once they got back to the Main Branch? "_We have enough doctors here, but the Main Branch needs all the people they can get now."_

"Great...thanks. Well...if anything happens, we'll let you know," Allen said, and was ready to unhook Timcampy but Bak continued to talk.

_"Hevlaska's here; she has a pinpoint on your location—it's thanks to her we could found the area you were in so quickly. And once you called us with Timcampy she had no problem. She'll be keeping tabs on you and if anything does happen she'll be the first to know__. __And one more thing: did Kisho get the Heart fragment to you?"_

"Yes, he did....and Hevlaska got us out of the Noah's headquarters somehow. Also...my eye isn't cursed anymore. And the Noah's gone too," Allen concluded, feeling the weird mix of feelings: relief, happiness, but also confusion and a strange emptiness. He supposed that would go away with time, though—the space the curse had filled for so long was now vacant. There was silence on the other end for quite a few moments.

_"Allen....__you're sure__? The Noah's memories are gone?" _There was disbelief, but a thrilled kind of disbelief, in Bak's tone. Allen felt himself smiling as he answered, and Kisho looked over at his friend for a moment and found he was feeling a mixture of relief and satisfaction, the emotions he saw were on Allen's face.

"They're gone. The pentacle and mark over my left eye are gone, too, and my hair's not white anymore."

_"Hm? You dyed your hair?" _Kisho snorted quietly with laughter when he heard Bak's voice respond.

Allen heard, gave Kisho an exasperated look, then sighed. "No, I didn't dye my hair. It's the color it was before I was cursed."

_"Everyone will be ecstatic to hear this. Some already are__," _Bak said, sounding amused, and suddenly another voice shouted over the Golem, and it was so loud that Allen and Kisho covered their ears; Allen dropped Timcampy and the Golem fluttered furiously to stay in the air.

_"ALLEN! I'm so glad you're safe! Do you remember me? I've never stopped thinking about you!" _Kisho gingerly removed his hands from his ears, then smirked at Allen's embarrassed expression.

"Lo Hua...uh, hello. How have you been?"

_"Great! But it hasn't been the same around here without you...oops...sorry, Bak!"_

_"Sorry, Lo Hua, but this is kind of an urgent situation. You can talk to him later," _Allen and Kisho heard Bak say, and Lo Hua's shy giggle made Allen rub his forehead and turn a little red. "_I'm going to send Lenalee and the others a message after this to tell them that you're alright, and l__ike I said, hang tight and if any Akuma show up, get out of there immediately to a safe place.__ Our exorcists will take care of things.__"_

"We will. I guess it's goodbye for now, Bak."

_"Until next time. Take care," _Bak said, and then all Allen and Kisho heard was static as Timcampy spit out the phone line. Allen reattached it to the phone and then swayed dizzily, feeling again the effects of fatigue. "Let's go upstairs and get some rest."

"You should rest," Kisho offered, "and I'll be first watch. If something happens I'll wake you up." Ascending the stairs with Kisho just behind him, Allen nodded gratefully.

"Thanks," he said, then entered the room that the clerk had made up for them. As they approached the door the clerk walked out of the room and smiled welcomingly as they passed, then headed back to the front desk. Inside the room Allen spotted the beds, picked the one near the window, and flopped down onto it, then shuffled under the covers. In a few minutes he was asleep. Kisho sat on the other bed that was closer to the door and leaned against the headboard. Timcampy fluttered over and settled on Kisho's shoulder, and the Golem let the teenager pat his head with a finger. Timcampy jumped as Kisho's stomach growled suddenly and he sighed, but the ex-exorcist knew that being hungry would help keep him awake. Gazing out the window, Kisho felt a sudden pulse of relief and elation.

"I'm alive...." he repeated quietly over and over, marvelling at the fact that he'd survived everything. He was sure that he wouldn't have, so now the fact that he was alive kept giving him jolts of amazement. Even with everything that had happened, there were likely still difficult things ahead, but Kisho was getting the feeling that they'd be cake compared to almost dying. Plus Allen wasn't going to become a Noah anymore. Kisho realized that he hadn't helped Allen because he'd been afraid of the Noah appearing—but because of all of Allen's friends', who didn't want to lose him. Kisho didn't want to lose someone, either, since he'd had enough of that. But the teenager also hadn't wanted to see everyone's faces if he hadn't tried to help Allen, and there was a good chance his inaction would have resulted in the exorcist being lost for good. It had been because he didn't want to feel regret and guilt, and see everyone else feeling miserable. What if that was a selfish reason?

_No._ A voice echoed inside his head and he jumped, eyes wide, and glanced around the room uneasily.

"Who...was that...? Am I going..."

_People don't often put their lives at risk because of selfish desires. Remember that._

"Hevlaska..." Kisho said quietly, "everyone....we'll be home soon."

* * *

The train Lavi, Lenalee, Shiori, Miranda, Camille, Johnny, Emile, Reever, and Komui were on had been rolling for a few hours, and it was now late at night and pitch black outside the train's windows. Lavi, Johnny, and Reever were in the compartment right next to Lenalee, Shiori, and Miranda, while Komui, Camille, and Emile were in the one across from them. Miranda and Shiori were asleep; the German woman was leaning against the window with a small pillow under her head and the wolf was curled up with her head on Miranda's lap. Lenalee, however, was sitting across from them, and had been staring out the window for the last hour or so. A short time after boarding the train, everyone had gone to different compartments since things had gotten crowded. The first hour on the train, Miranda, Shiori, and Lenalee had talked about whatever interesting things they could to keep themselves entertained but then Miranda and Shiori had decided to take a rest and Lenalee had been watching the scenery go by ever since then. She didn't feel too tired, and even if she had been, she was too worried to sleep. Shiori, Lavi, and Reever each had a Golem but so far no messages had come through. Breaking her gaze from the window, Lenalee sighed and glanced over at the small black Golem that was sleeping between Shiori's paws. Every now and then its wings would flap slightly but other than that it wasn't doing anything. Lenalee resumed gazing out the window, but a strange buzzing noise made her turn back and give a startled jolt. The black Golem's eye had opened wide and it was twitching while giving off a buzzing noise, and suddenly it gave off a crackling static noise that made Lenalee slide off of her seat and kneel in front of Shiori. Cupping her hands gently around the Golem, she held it in her palms and stared down at it, listening carefully for any voices coming through it. Lenalee's heart skipped when the static noises suddenly quieted down and a voice spoke over it.

_"Hello?"_

"Yes?" Lenalee answered back, trembling. "Who is this?" She asked, for it was hard sometimes to tell the speaker's identity over a Golem.

_"Bak. Is this Lenalee?" _But apparently it wasn't hard for some.

"Yes, it's me. What's going on?" She asked, and started shaking harder as she listened to him talk.

_"Lenalee, good news: Allen just contacted the Asia Branch with Timcampy. Kisho's with him, and they've both escaped from the Noah. They're in a town near the Asia Branch, and it has Akuma, so—"_

"Akuma?" Lenalee gasped, cutting him off.

_"Don't worry—Allen told me they haven't appeared yet and we're sending exorcists to help them. After that, they'll come to the Asia Branch by train. They're coming home, and they're both fine. I wanted to contact you and tell you first, but I'm going to tell the others now."_

Lenalee nodded and smiled, sniffing while tears ran down her face. "Thanks, Bak. Thank you so much. I'm so glad they're safe...." The female exorcist began sobbing loudly, causing Shiori and Miranda to jolt awake. When they saw Lenalee crying they became concerned, and felt pulses of dread when they saw the Golem in Lenalee's hands.

"Lenalee!" Miranda exclaimed, jumping from the seat, and Shiori did a second later. Lenalee kept crying as Miranda put her arms around her. "What's wrong? Why are you crying? Did something happen?"

"N-no....I'm happy, Miranda, I'm so relieved!" Dropping Kamu so she could hug Miranda back, she sobbed, "Allen and Kisho are coming back—they're alright! Bak just told me!" Miranda drew back and looked at Lenalee, first with a stunned expression, then a happy one and she hugged her tightly again. Shiori had sunk to the floor, having been shaking too much to stand up anymore.

_They're alright, they're alive...we're going to see them again._ The compartment door suddenly banged open and Komui stood there with Emile, who looked relieved, and Camille, who was trembling as badly as Shiori.

"Lenalee!" He exclaimed, and the three female exorcists in the compartment looked up.

"Bak just contacted me—Allen's okay, and so is Kisho." Komui nodded.

"Bak called me, too, and told me I should go check on you. He didn't say anything else. What's going on?" Komui asked seriously, and his expression said that he was expecting bad news; Camille and Emile tensed. Lenalee pulled away from Miranda and stood up shakily, and Komui held her shoulders and looked at her face. "Did he talk to you about Allen?" Tears were still coming down Lenalee's face as she smiled and answered.

"Yes, and he's safe—he told me they're both safe, Allen and Kisho. He sent out exorcists to take them to the Asia Branch!" Komui's eyes widened and an unexpected smile broke out on his face before he became serious again.

"So they're in China...we just missed them," he said slowly, "but I'm sure Bak has things under control."

"Plus," Camille put in, still shaking, but with relief this time, "it would have taken them a while to get back." Emile nodded.

"And questions can wait until they get to the new Main Branch. They must be exhausted."

_I'm going to go see if Lavi, Reever, and Johnny got a message! _Shiori thought; Miranda and Lenalee nodded and explained to Komui as she dashed out of the compartment and to the right. Pawing at the door Shiori managed to stick her claws between a slight gap in the door and slid it open. She was about to bark an excited greeting but suddenly went still. Johnny and Reever were inside the compartment, slumped against each other like they were asleep and Shiori would have just believed they were if they hadn't had blood slowly trailing down their faces. The exorcist noticed that Lavi wasn't inside the compartment, then rushed forward and checked them; she could see and hear that they were still breathing normally, but she had to do something since they were hurt. Shiori could go right back to the next compartment and get help but she didn't feel comfortable with leaving the two researchers alone even for that short amount of time. There was a strange scent in the air, and it was familiar, but helping the two researchers was more important now so she bit their pant legs in her teeth and carefully but quickly pulled them so they slid off of the seat, then backed out of the door. As Shiori left the compartment she noticed that the window was open and realized again that Lavi was nowhere to be seen. Since Shiori's teeth were clenched she had to breathe through her nose, and in doing so finally turned her attention to the nauseating scent in the air. With a jolt of dismay, Shiori recognized it as the almost decaying scent of an Akuma.

As quickly as she could, she dragged them down the hall to Lenalee and Miranda's compartment and began barking at the top of her lungs. The door slid open with a bang and Komui looked down at her at first with an annoyed expression that changed to alarm. He bent down, picked up Johnny, and Emile saw what was happening and quickly stooped to pick Reever up. Then they ran over to their empty compartment and laid the researchers down on the seats. Emile pulled gauze and bandages out of his backpack and began treating them while Shiori ran towards Lenalee and Miranda, who were still in the train compartment. Just then Lenalee ran out into the hall and was about to ask Shiori what had happened when the wolf started growling deep in her throat.

_Come with me, now! There are Akuma outside! _Lenalee and Shiori took off, and Miranda was about to when Komui called her back to stay and use Time Out on the train to both repair it and cancel out any damage that would be inflicted on it. She nodded and, pausing to cast a worried look towards Lenalee and Shiori, Miranda followed Komui into the compartment. Once inside she knelt beside the two researchers, took a breath, and activated Time Record, concentrating on using it to affect the whole train.

Lenalee ran down the hall to the end of the train where a door was; slamming it open, she was standing on the grill between their car and the next. Turning, Lenalee spotted a ladder and hurriedly climbed up it; Shiori attempted to before she dropped back down to the grill, tensed her back legs, and leapt onto the top of the train car. _Lavi wasn't in the compartment. I bet he's fighting now. _Crouching on top of the train to avoid being knocked off by the strong wind, the three exorcists looked around for him.

"Lavi!" Lenalee shouted into the night, but her voice was cancelled out because of the wind whipping around them. Lenalee and Shiori's arms; they glanced upward when she pointed and saw hundreds of Level One and Two Akuma descending on the train. A stream of fire suddenly blazed through the Akuma, destroying a chunk of them instantly, and the attack had come from behind Miranda, Lenalee, and Shiori. Turning sharply Lenalee saw that Lavi was standing on the next car over. Miranda stayed on the car with Shiori while Lenalee leapt over the gap between them, but as she leapt she saw it sealing up and soon it was as if it had never been damaged. Landing next to Lavi Shiori raised her head and set up a howl, which caused multiple explosions across the sky as more Level Ones were destroyed. After Lavi attacked them with the fire spell again only about ten or so Akuma were left, including a few Level Twos, but as the exorcists watched, they suddenly gathered together and vanished. Lenalee stayed close to Lavi and kept scanning the sky for any signs of movement, and suddenly Lavi grabbed her around the waist and leapt onto his Anti-Akuma Weapon. They flew out of range just as an explosion tore a hole open in the roof of the train car right where they'd been standing seconds ago. From the air Lavi and Lenalee had spotted the Akuma and as they stared at it, it turned and gave them a sinister look. They saw finally that it was a Level Four that had the appearance of a wyvern that several people could ride on its back and still have room to spare. The Akuma's eyes suddenly glowed bright red and its wings, their wingspan half as long as one of the train's cars, moved down and then snapped up again quickly. Lavi dodged out of the way just as it shot past them and Lenalee clung to him with all her might to avoid falling.

Shiori darted across the surface of the train, leapt over the gap between the two cars, and skidded to a stop on the opposite car. The exorcist took a deep breath and howled, but as Lavi and Lenalee watched, it seemed to have no effect on the Akuma, save for making its wingbeats falter only slightly. Lavi yelled a warning as the Akuma folded its scaled wings and went into a dive towards Shiori; the wolf looked skyward and had a second to widen her eyes and start to leap away before the Akuma's claws shot out and sank into her shoulders. She let out a pained yelp as she was lifted higher into the air, and began struggling fiercely, slashing her nails at whatever inch of the Akuma she could get at. Lavi cursed and Lenalee watched wide-eyed as the Akuma suddenly stopped, hovered in the air, and aimed its teeth towards Shiori. The wolf stopped struggling momentarily and looked up, then opened her jaws and bit the Akuma's mouth as its mouth came closer. Suddenly the Akuma screeched and its claws flexed open as Lenalee fell straight down out of the sky, smashing her feet into its head. With a weak screech, the Level Four fell through the sky a ways before opening its wings and flying back up, enraged. Shiori meanwhile had begun to fall but Lenalee reached out and grabbed her by the collar and landed on the handle of Lavi's Anti-Akuma Weapon as he flew by. Shiori gagged as Lenalee heaved her up into the air, still gripping her tightly by the collar, and then let her fall so that she fell onto Lenalee's shoulders and hung there piggyback-style.

_Thanks, Lenalee! I really owe you one!_ Shiori thought gratefully after she caught her breath.

"Don't mention it....but you _do_ owe me one for when I gave you a bath that time."

_Funny, Lenalee._ Shiori looked over her shoulders as she felt the pain there vanishing. A few golden orbs had just faded away when the wolf looked back. _Miranda's activated Time Record...I owe her one, too._

"Yes, you do," Lenalee commented with a note of teasing, but when she glanced back at the Level Four Akuma, her expression became serious. "Now we can fight with everything we have, and more. We have to go see the others again, and Allen and Kisho."

_Well said!_

"Alright, get ready. This guy's doing down," Lavi growled, and aimed his Anti-Akuma Weapon towards the Akuma and a split second later shot through the air towards it.


	30. Renewal

**Me: (Sigh)**

**Lavi: Here it comes… (Puts on earmuffs)**

**Me: No one's reviewed in a while! I have thirteen reviews and that was cool when I had thirteen chapters but I have a ton more chapters now. If people still like it and don't review that's fine, if the story's being enjoyed, but I still love and treasure any reviews I get. So if a moment is found then please leave a review. Alright I'm done. I don't own D-Gray Man or its characters. Hmm…Lavi does own a better pair of earmuffs that are pink and fuzzy with purple sparkles though.**

**Lavi: What?**

**Me: Nothing.**

* * *

Chapter 28 – Renewal

_"Walker? Morioka? Hello?"_ Kisho had just about dozed off, but as a voice issued from Timcampy, nestled on his shoulder, his head slid off his arms which had been resting across his knees. _"This is the team of exorcists sent by the Asia Branch to relieve you. Are you there? Are both of you alright?"_ Kisho grabbed sleepily for the golden Golem on his shoulder and spoke clearly to Timcampy as he rubbed his eyes and tried to stay awake.

"We're both here and fine," he replied, stifling a yawn, and heard a reassured sigh come from whoever was speaking through the other Golem.

_"That's good to hear. We got directions and coordinates to the inn, and we'll be there momentarily. Get ready to go and meet us by the entrance—we'll escort you the train, then come back to find the Akuma once we make sure you're safely on your way."_

"Thank you. We'll see you soon, and be careful," Kisho told the female voice.

_"There haven't been any signs of Akuma yet—the few people that are out don't seem to be acting strangely, but we've kept out of their way just the same, and we're almost there." _The connection ended and Kisho let Timcampy fly off towards Allen, who was still sleeping soundly. Jumping up from the second bed Kisho crossed the room quickly to Allen and began shaking him.

"Hey, Allen, wake up. It's time to go—the exorcist team from the Asia Branch will be here soon." After a few more attempts at trying to wake Allen up the exorcist stirred, slowly opened his gray-blue eyes, and blinked.

"What?" He mumbled, sounding irritated and still tired, but suddenly sat up quickly and looked urgent. "Anything wrong?"

"No," Kisho answered, and shook his head, "but we can go now—the exorcists from the Asia Branch are almost here. They said that we'd meet up at the inn's entrance." Allen pushed the covers away and got out of bed, put his shoes on, and stood up. "They're going to take us to the train, then stay here and destroy the Akuma."

"Got it. Come on, Timcampy," Allen coaxed the Golem into nestling into his front pocket but Timcampy curled up in his hair instead. "Fine, be that way," Allen laughed, and then the three of them went out into the hall and down the stairs.

"How long have you had Timcampy?" Kisho asked, looking up at Allen and watching with interest as the golden Golem started chewing the exorcist's brown hair.

"Ever since I became an exorcist around three years ago, but I knew him longer than that. He belonged to my teacher, and when I left to go to The Black Order, he gave Timcampy to me. He's shrunk and grown a lot since then," Allen said nostalgically, and patted the golden Golem, who stopped chewing his hair long enough to bite his finger. "Ow! Timcampy, let go!" He yelled, shaking his finger furiously, and finally the Golem let go and went back to chewing Allen's hair. The exorcist sucked on his finger a few times, then shook his head and glared up at the Golem. "You crazy little..." he growled, and Timcampy hissed through a mouthful of hair.

"Sounds like you had a lot of fun together," Kisho said, trying not to laugh. "But, hang on—you said that Timcampy's shrunk and grown a lot? Can all Golems do that?" Allen shrugged.

"I don't know if _all_ Golems can, but I know that Timcampy can. Once you could have used him for a soccer ball, but after he shrank, he was more suited for badminton." Timcampy hissed again and Allen grinned evilly. "I'm just joking...though now we could play tennis with him." The Golem bit a mouthful of Allen's hair and yanked on it hard, causing the exorcist to yelp. "OW! Alright, alright!" Timcampy settled back down but paid no attention to Allen's command. Kisho laughed and was about to look out one of the inn's windows to see if he could see anyone, but it was too dark.

"They should have been here by now, but I guess they're not too late, or anything. I just hope that..." Kisho had just turned away from the window when a shockwave destroyed the glass and pane, sending wood splinters and glass shards shooting towards him. Kisho watched in astonishment for a split second before being knocked behind the front desk by Allen. The two grimaced as their previous injuries were jarred from slamming into the floor but neither of them gave any verbal indication of the pain. Once the glass and wood had stopped flying, Allen and Kisho rose slowly; they'd both received a few cuts from the flying glass and wood, and had some small bits of glass in their skin, but aside from that they were unharmed.

"I think we might have to fight a bit to get out of here, after all," Allen said grimly, rising to his feet. "I can cut through any Akuma out there, but you just stay behind me and keep up, got it?" Kisho nodded silently and grabbed Timcampy, who had been fluttering around near his head, then dashed out of the inn after Allen. Once outside the two saw shapes moving in the darkness, and periodically would see flashes of green that lit the shapes up.

"There are the exorcists, and they're fighting Level Ones," Kisho noticed, but looked uneasy. "I know I can't do much to help, but will they be..." Allen looked briefly at the younger teenager and nodded.

"This is their job...and mine," Allen said firmly. "And why are you talking like you don't know? You've fought Akuma too." Kisho sighed and Allen clapped a hand on his shoulder, grinned, and gave an unconcerned shrug in the Akuma's direction. "Besides, Level Ones aren't much of a problem as long as you finish them off before they decide to try and evolve." Allen felt a little strange as he realized that he was trying to cheer Kisho up, like Lavi had tried to cheer him up the first time they'd met. Maybe it was because he was older, and Kisho was younger; Allen was the almost same age as Lavi had been when they'd met. Shaking the thoughts away, Allen got activated his Innocence and looked towards the fighting exorcists again. "Stay close to me—I'm going to help them out."

Kisho ran with Allen over towards the exorcists, but a moment later a virus bullet shot towards them. Allen leapt away and Kisho did a dodge roll to evade it. The Akuma swiftly shot another bullet towards Kisho and he jumped up to run, but his heart started pounding when he realized he wouldn't be able to get away in time. _I can't die...if I do then what did people risk their necks for?_ Kisho thought, dismay flooding his body. The bullet kept hurtling towards him, and as much as he didn't want to, Kisho started mentally saying his goodbyes. Unexpectedly the teenager felt a sharp kick in the ribs that sent him tumbling sideways a few feet. Coming to rest on his back, Kisho wondered if he'd been hit by the virus bullet, but aside from his side and arm hurting nothing else felt wrong with him. A sudden bright flash made him quickly lift his left arm and cover his eyes.

Allen, meanwhile, had finished destroying a few dozen Level Ones when he saw Kisho in the bullet's path. A flash of light made him squint and when it subsided he looked around, expecting Kisho to have been hit by the bullet. Running to where he'd seen Kisho, Allen made out his crouching form and noticed that he was looking up at someone. Allen's gaze drifted to who Kisho was staring at and upon closer inspection the exorcist noticed that the person's palms were glowing green. Closing her eyes she focused, then clasped her hands together and a second later a green barrier of light prevented a barrage of virus bullets from hitting the three of them; the barrier shimmered and the bullets suddenly turned to white streaks of light as they shot back at the floating multitude of Level Ones. Ten or so of them were destroyed when the light bullets hit them. "That was close," the exorcist breathed, still holding the barrier up. Looking at Allen and Kisho, she said. "I'll keep the barrier activated while we run for the train. My friends will take care of the Akuma here—some Level Threes are no problem for them." Kisho and Allen nodded. "Hurry!"

The three of them began running as fast as they could towards the train station, and Allen would attack any Akuma with Clown Belt that got too close. Sometimes he'd see green flashes from the other exorcists' Innocence, and often they'd take care of the Akuma before they got too close. They'd beat the Level Ones and Twos in no time, but it seemed that the Level Threes hadn't shown up yet. Several tense minutes later, Allen, Kisho, and the exorcist reached the train station. The Asia Branch exorcist ran through the station and quickly found the train that she and her comrades had arrived on. "Let's get on, quickly," she urged, and they did. Once inside, the train waited a minute before pulling out, and thankfully no Akuma seemed to have gotten past the other exorcists and followed them to the station. Only after the train had been running for ten or fifteen minutes did Kisho and Allen stop looking out the windows so they could locate seats to slump down into. Tired out from the run, they closed their eyes and took a breather, exhausted from the run to the station even though it hadn't taken them that long; the two were still injured and not back to full health yet.

"Safe," Kisho panted after a few moments, then opened his eyes and sighed. Allen patted Timcampy as the Golem lighted on his knee.

"We can completely relax once we're at the Asia Branch...but for now I guess we can take it easy." Looking up Kisho noticed the exorcist who'd helped them was leaning over the seat in front and was staring right at them with a peculiar expression; it was halfway between curiosity and wariness. For the first time Kisho got a better look at her, since before he'd been too preoccupied to really notice what she looked like. Her hair was black and tied up in a bun that let some of the hair fall down to just above her shoulders. Her eyes were dark brown like Kisho's, and there was a strange intelligence in them that somehow unnerved him—the look she had made Kisho wonder how much she'd been told about them, and what. The exorcist uniform she was wearing had the design of Miranda's—a long sleeved black jacket, unzipped to let a white shirt show, and black pants. Allen looked up quickly after his neck started prickling, saw he was being stared at, and asked, "What is it?" The exorcist lifted her head—it had been resting on her hands as she studied them—and offered her right hand.

"I've heard about you guys, especially you," she pointed at Allen, "but you don't know me. My name is Kang Hyun-Ae." Allen shook her hand, then Kisho.

"Bak just told us about you. So, you're from Korea?" Kisho asked curiously, and Hyun-Ae nodded, and then got a longing look in her eye as she gazed out the window.

"Yes. I was taken from there three and a half years ago....or something close to that. It's at least been a while. I was eighteen when I became an Accommodator, and I went to the Asia Branch with a few other exorcist from different countries. I was one of the exorcists that were picked up with a General who was looking for Accommodators; I forgot what the General's name was, though, but I've seen the other exorcists I went with around the Asia Branch and I've gone on missions with both of them. A friend of mine also became an exorcist and we were taken to the Asia Branch together—he's here tonight, actually, fighting those Akuma. His Innocence is Parasite, and so is mine." The exorcist removed her gloves and indicated two spots in the middle of her palms where green dots of light glowed.

"You have two?" Allen asked in surprise, but Hyun-Ae shook her head once and pulled the black-and-silver gloves back on.

"When I got it, it split into two pieces and stuck in both of my hands. I'm not sure why it did, but as you saw it can create a barrier and when an Akuma's attack hits the barrier, it gets sent back at it. That's how I fight them...so to speak. I don't really fight using any weapon—I just use Akuma's attacks against them. It's pretty easy when there are just Level Ones, but Level Twos, Threes, and Fours are smarter. They won't just keep fighting like the Level Ones do; they're more strategic and don't continue throwing attacks at me when they won't do anything. I usually have to run around a lot and activate the barrier at the last minute when I fight higher level Akuma. I guess since my Innocence is in both hands, I can activate two barriers at once if I need to, and if I'm surrounded by Akuma and they fire at me, I can keep it activated and let the attacks bounce back at both sides, or run and let them hit each other."

"Wow," Kisho said, looking awed, and Hyun-Ae gave him a peculiar look.

"It's nothing to be impressed about," she said with a shrug. "I can hurt my teammates if I'm not careful. If there's even a tiny bit of miscommunication while fighting, or if I or one of my partners was in the wrong position, I could end up causing a disaster. Even if the attacks I use change form and do a lot of damage to Akuma, they're still Akuma's attacks, and they can hurt me and my teammates. So don't get too impressed." Studying Allen and Kisho intently, Hyun-Ae asked, "So what are your Anti-Akuma Weapons?" Kisho shook his head.

"I used to have one, and it was Equip," he replied, and saw a look of understanding cross Hyun-Ae's face.

"Oh, I get it. So you're the one Bak was talking about before I left, huh? The one who found a piece of the Heart?"

"....That's right," Kisho replied uneasily and Hyun-Ae lifted an eyebrow, clearly interested about hearing more, but appeared to decide against it as she looked at Allen and waited to hear about his Anti-Akuma Weapon.

"Mine's Parasite, too," Allen began hurriedly, "I was born with it in my left hand."

"Interesting. I saw you use it earlier. Thanks for helping destroy them, by the way. I appreciate it. My friends are better at actually fighting Akuma than me, but still, I'm worried about them. But they called me because I could use my Innocence like a barrier—my mission was to get you out of the town, and theirs was to fight Akuma." Hyun-Ae sighed and looked out the window again, but looked back with a smile. "You should get some rest. I'll make sure to keep a close watch out for any Akuma that might have followed us, but I really doubt any did, so don't worry. And your Golem will probably keep watch, too," Hyun-Ae commented, looking amused as Timcampy flew up to Allen's head. The Golem settled down in his brown hair, but would twitch his wings and look around periodically. "And I'm not going anywhere. I'll wake you up first thing if I notice anything odd." Hyun-Ae paused, noting the boys' expressions, and gave a wistful smile. "I know you don't know me, and I can see you don't really trust me yet. That's fine, but I'm an exorcist, and I promise that I'll get you back to the Asia Branch safely."

"You're right....sorry," Allen and Kisho apologized, and Hyun-Ae shrugged, then reached a hand towards her jacket pocket. "That reminds me; actually, I have to contact headquarters now to let them know we're on our way." Hyun-Ae pulled a black Golem from her pocket and was about to speak into it when Allen spoke.

"Your Golem doesn't need a phone line, huh?" Allen asked and Hyun-Ae nodded with a slight smile.

"The Science Departments from the Main and Asia Branch worked together to find ways to make Golems able to just send signals directly to headquarters or other Golems in case of an emergency situation where an exorcist has to make immediate contact to someone. The Golem they gave me is one they made recently. It can also help with first aid to an extent." Ignoring Allen and Kisho for the moment, the female exorcist spoke clearly but not loudly into the black Golem. "Asia Branch exorcist Hyun-Ae reporting. Come in." A short moment later a voice crackled over the connection.

_"Hyun?"_

"Call me Hyun-_Ae_, if you don't mind, Likei," she scolded nonchalantly, as if she'd done it many times. "Anyway, Likei, I'm en route to headquarters. Allen Walker and Kisho Morioka are with me now and we've been travelling for around twenty minutes now."

_"Got it; I'll let Bak know. You have around thirty minutes until you get here, so don't get too impatient, but feel free to take a rest or something."_

"Thanks, Likei. See you soon, and I'll take care of these guys, so don't worry."

_"With you in charge, I have to," _came the reply, and as Hyun-Ae glared angrily at the black Golem Allen and Kisho tried to stifle their laughter.

"Whatever....goodbye, Likei. I won't forget you said that, just so you know," Hyun-Ae said sharply, an annoyed smile pinching her face as she put the Golem back in her pocket. "Well, I bet you're glad that the trip isn't too long. By train, it's just thirty minutes like Likei said, and a train's the best way to go. We will have to walk the last ten minutes there, but I won't get you guys lost."

"Walking doesn't sound good to me right now....and can I say that we probably would get lost?" Kisho asked tentatively.

"You can," Hyun-Ae replied cheerily, and laughed. "You two get some rest. It's just a short while until we have to get off at the next station and walk but you both look dead on your feet." Kisho yawned and leaned back in his seat, and a moment later Allen did the same.

"Could you wake us up when we're almost there?" Kisho asked tiredly, yawning again.

"Of course," Hyun-Ae responded, nodding once, and watched as the two closed their eyes and drifted off.

* * *

**New character...another original character...but I realize that most exorcists I mention will have to be OC's if I want to really describe them in detail...which I usually do. I'm a details kind of person. There will be more OC's in upcoming chapters so hope that doesn't bug anyone. Well I better go. And remember: I love reviews! Constructive criticism, observations, questions....things of that sort. Please leave a review if you have the time. It doesn't have to be long. If you do review, thanks very much in advance! If not, thank you very much for sticking with me and continuing to read! :)**


	31. Reunion

**A battle scene….I hope it's good. ^.^ I don't own D. Gray Man or its characters except mine…..uhhh….yeah. Hoshino Natsumi does. I did it again….I mean, Hoshino Katsura does. That's about it. Enjoy! :)**

Chapter 29 – Reunion

Emile rushed outside and quickly clambered up the ladder leading to the top of the train, ran a short distance and leapt over the gap in the roof that had been made from the Akuma's attack. Then he stopped abruptly, turned, and lifted a device that looked like a lantern. Squinting through the darkness he quickly spotted the Akuma flying alongside the moving train. Hitting a few buttons on the device, a beam of light shot from it and enclosed the Akuma, freezing it in midair for a few seconds. Emile suddenly turned the device off and the Akuma fell towards the ground and landed with a crunch and screech of agony before rising to its clawed feet and lifting into the air again. Fixing its red, angry eyes on Emile the Akuma opened its mouth and shot an orb of Dark Matter at the Finder. Shiori suddenly streaked towards Emile, grabbed the collar of his shirt between her teeth, and leapt away before the dark ball hit him. The attack spiraled off into the darkness and a moment later there was a large explosion. Even though it was far away the force knocked Emile and Shiori down and almost pushed the train off the tracks.

The Level Four was about to go into a nosedive and attack them when a column of fire broadsided it and pushed it through the air several feet before the column turned into a flaming spiral that held the Akuma in place. Lavi's eyes widened in alarm when the Akuma suddenly broke free of the fire tornado and flew towards him; the redhead dodged but soon felt his right cheek burning. Lavi touched his face briefly, glanced at his hand and saw blood smeared across his palm. He turned his attention quickly back to the Level Four; it was rising into the air and gave a loud, angry shriek that probably spread for miles. He, Lenalee, and Emile winced at the grating sound that made their ears hurt, but as the shriek continued Shiori crouched

"Hey!" Lavi yelled across the train to her—he was currently one car over with Lenalee—and the wolf stood shakily with her ears pinned tightly to her head. The sound still made her head throb and spin but she could bear it a little more if she kept her ears down. "Get over here!" Shiori thrust a paw out and touched it to the device Emile held before she darted off across the train and leapt across the gaps when appropriate. The Finder's Akuma-trapping device sent the beam of light out and he aimed it towards the Akuma once he spotted it, and the Level Four was once again immobilized as the beam enveloped it—the painful shriek also ceased and Shiori felt a wash of relief as she skidded to a stop next to Lavi. "Listen to me, Lenalee: go up to the Akuma and start attacking its wings. And Shady, you're going up there too." Lenalee gave Lavi an astonished look and Shiori appeared similarly astounded.

_I'm sure it'd be fun, but I can't fly,_ Shiori stated, then looked up when she saw movement from the corner of her eye. Emile still had the beam of light trapping the Akuma, but it was beginning to move and suddenly the beam of light shattered completely. The train was moving and the Akuma had been rendered still; there was only so much distance until the machine's light couldn't reach the Akuma anymore and it was getting ready to attack Emile now. The Finder prepared to start up the machine again when the Akuma stopped suddenly; a beam of light was coming from Lavi, Lenalee, and Shiori's side of the train—Camille had climbed up onto the roof of the train and activated the device she had. Emile quickly trapped the Akuma with his device and began running back along the train so he could keep the beam of light on the Level Four; Camille began doing the same. The three exorcists stepped aside as the Finders ran past. Lavi spoke quickly, knowing they didn't have a lot of time until the Finders ran out of train cars to run along.

"You two can try to bring the Akuma down from the air. We're at a disadvantage because it can fly, and I can't chase after it and activate spells at the same time. I need to activate spells from down here."

_So you want us to weaken it so we can fight it on the ground. Lenalee can get up there, but I don't know how I can..._ Shiori thought, her heart racing as she looked across the train and saw that the Finders were reaching the end of the train. Lavi gave a knowing grin.

"Just leave that to me," he said, and in a swift motion, bent down and grabbed Shiori by her brown collar. He lifted her with a powerful heave of his arm and tossed her in the air, then enlarged his Anti-Akuma Weapon and positioned it so that Shiori would fall back down on the flat side of the hammer, and a moment later she landed right where Lavi thought she would.

_OW! _Shiori felt the breath knocked painfully from her but she had to recover quickly, scraping her claws into the flat surface of the hammer to prevent herself from falling off. She was still going to fall off in a matter of seconds, though, so Lavi moved quickly.

"Get ready, Shady! Here's your first training lesson!" Lavi yelled, a look of concentration now on his face, and he turned to aim Shiori towards the back of the train where the Akuma was currently located. Suddenly the beams from the Finders' devices deactivated and the Level Four broke free and it crashed into the ground like before, but again got back into the air and pierced Camille and Emile with an angry red gaze. "Go get the Akuma!" The redhead shouted as he swung his Anti-Akuma Weapon with all his might, which sent Shiori flying straight for the airborne Level Four. Lenalee activated her Innocence, then darted along the length of the train towards the end and once she reached it, the female exorcist tensed her legs and jumped high into the air a second later. Just as Lenalee jumped Shiori slammed into the Akuma and frantically dug her claws into its side so she wouldn't fall off.

Distracted by the sudden weight cannoning into its side the Akuma turned its attention away from the Finders and immediately found the source of annoyance. Opening its mouth wide, a ball of fire instead of darkness began growing and the wolf dug her claws in deeper, then with a powerful effort born from desperation, she yanked herself up onto the Akuma's back. The fireball shot through the air just as Shiori got out of the way, but it had singed some fur off her back. The Level Four hissed angrily and lunged towards Shiori with jaws wide and revealing viciously sharp teeth, but she waited until they were about to bite her and then she leapt back a few steps. The Akuma bit deep into its own skin, gave a muffled shriek of agony, then opened its jaws again and lunged for another try. Shiori crouched and sprang, avoiding the Akuma's open jaws, but with as much strength as she could gather the wolf slammed both her front paws down on the top of the Level Four's mouth. The force, Shiori noted, was luckily enough to slam her opponent's jaws together with a painful-sounding snap.

She thought the Akuma had been stunned so she quickly decided to take a look at its wings but its jaws opened suddenly and although some of its teeth were cracked or broken off, the Level Four just seemed angry. Roaring, it made the same shriek that had immobilized Shiori before, and she tried pinning her ears to block the sound out. But since she was closer the shriek was five times worse than before and the sound pierced her ears clearly no matter what she did. As the Akuma was aiming its jaws for the wolf again, Lenalee dropped down from the sky and stomped heavily on its upper jaw, which made it slam into its lower jaw, and a louder cracking noise resounded through the air; the Akuma gave an agonized bellow as its upper and lower jaws were broken.

"Shiori, I'll fight it and distract it as much as I can. You try to damage its wings!" Shiori nodded her head once and ran to where the Akuma's wing, the left one, was located while Lenalee jumped back into the air using the Level Four's broken jaws as a springboard. While Shiori was examining the Akuma's wing, Lenalee kept darting in and aiming powerful kicks at the Akuma's head and neck. But after a few minutes of the exorcist keeping up this tactic the Level Four became enraged and spread its wings to their full span, and Shiori would have been tossed from its back if she hadn't dug her claws in deep to the Akuma's back. Lifting her head Shiori saw the wings continuously snap closed and open, which send strong gusts of wind towards Lenalee, who tried to kick her legs and fly out of range to avoid the gusts. As she kicked a foot out, it hit a gust and she tensed but the air just streamed past her foot on either side. She was hovering vertically in the air now, still being jostled by the wind the Akuma's wings created, but suddenly she had an idea and tensed her legs. When the next gust came, she felt it approaching and straightened her legs abruptly as if she was jumping. Her feet felt like she had just jumped off of a solid surface and she easily shot through the air towards the Akuma. As the Akuma flapped its wings again another gust came towards her and she jumped off it, flying higher into the sky, then let herself fall. Lenalee gained speed quickly as she hurtled towards the Akuma, who was looking up at her and waiting for her to fall.

_Shiori!_ Lenalee thought, and saw the wolf's head jerk up to see what was going on. Glancing at Lenalee, then at the Akuma, Shiori bared her teeth and jumped onto the back of the Akuma's neck and bit as deep as she could while she reached her paws up and dug them into the Level Four's eyes. The Akuma immediately began thrashing around in midair but Lenalee kept her eyes trained on the Akuma's wing, where Shiori had been moments before. When she was just about to land on the wing, Lenalee kicked a leg out sharply and a whirlwind appeared and ripped right through it, and the severed wing fell to the ground below and was left behind as the train kept moving through the countryside. Shiori's teeth were anchored into the Akuma's neck so when it rolled over in midair she stayed on but Lenalee was left clinging to the Level Four's leg for dear life and was attempting to climb up when the Wyvern-like Akuma's tail whipped up. Lenalee saw it coming and her eyes went wide just before it slammed into her and knocked her off. Shiori released her teeth from the Level Four's neck and jumped off as it started thrashing. The tail that had just knocked Lenalee off came around, winding around Shiori's body, pinning her limbs to her body.

_"Got one of you!" _Shiori jumped when the Akuma spoke in a raspy voice through its broken jaws.

_Lenalee? No! Lenalee, answer me!_ Shiori thought desperately, looking around, but didn't see her comrade anywhere and no reply came. The wolf felt her pulses of dismay in her chest, and kept crying Lenalee's name in her head.

_"Now just need to kill the rest of you!"_ The Akuma pulled Shiori around so that she was staring into its eyes, which were no longer good for seeing anything, but the Level Four seemed able to still see her as it raised its back foot and held it in front of the wolf. Shiori stared at it and realized she was about to die very soon, but she thought of Lenalee and how she'd probably fallen when the Akuma had twisted in midair like that, and the stunned realization started melting away to rage. She hadn't even noticed her friend fall, hadn't heard a thing; she'd been too busy with attacking the Akuma. If she hadn't, she could have gotten her and pulled her back up, even if it had made her vulnerable. Even if Lenalee had fallen she could have flown back up and been fine but something must have happened to her because the Chinese exorcist was nowhere to be seen now. _"Die!"_ The Akuma screeched triumphantly, aiming its claw towards the wolf, who wasn't paying attention. Her heart was beating fast and her throat was burning as she felt herself howling with rage. The thought that Lenalee could possibly have been killed by the Akuma when she'd been so close and able to do something was too much for Shiori to grasp and she felt something in her snap.

By instinct Shiori thrust her head forward and bit her enemy's back leg just below the claws and bit deep. Unexpectedly the Akuma let out a cry that sent vibrations through her body and suddenly Shiori felt something give and she was holding half of the severed Akuma's leg in her mouth. The wolf opened her mouth and dropped the limb, then lifted her head and let a long howl loose. The burning sensation in her throat grew until it was getting to become unbearable but she didn't stop. The light from her Innocence suddenly got brighter and suddenly the pressure around Shiori's body lessened and she felt herself falling, but was still trapped by the Akuma. Then she realized that the Level Four was falling through the air and appeared to be paralyzed. Shiori looked down and saw the ground coming for them at an alarmingly fast rate and she began squirming, trying to get free from the Akuma's tail that was still coiled around her. Just then Shiori felt the burning in her throat decrease but her right paw began to burn like her throat had been. Looking at it, the wolf saw that her claws and part of her paw were glowing green. Acting quickly she slashed at the already damaged base of the Akuma's tail and cut right through it. The coils around her loosened even more and fell away, but Shiori used them as a spring to leap towards the Akuma's back and she clung on long enough to see if the train was still nearby; it was, and she leapt off of the Level Four for it but felt a jolt of pain when something grabbed her by the back right leg and held tight.

Glancing back Shiori saw that the Akuma had bitten her even though its jaws were broken; the paralyzing effect her howl had looked to have worn off. In a swift motion the Akuma yanked its head back and Shiori was pulled towards the Akuma, and she flipped over in the air so that her jaws were aimed towards her enemy's chest. If she could bite through it, then she might be able to kill it and end the fight, then go and find Lenalee. Her claws stopped glowing and a light travelled up her right leg and Shiori felt her mouth burning and saw the light from her Innocence. _It can move to other parts of my body, _Shiori thought, but knew she couldn't waste time with being amazed. Taking a split second to aim, Shiori lunged her head towards the Akuma and when she was inches from it she felt her teeth punch through the center of its chest, then felt a stabbing pain in her back. Not able to breathe, Shiori felt herself being pulled upwards by the hold the Level Four had on her, but didn't let go. Slowly her teeth began to rip through the Akuma as it pulled her up, and her consciousness began to slip in and out, but everything went black when the two of them finally hit the ground with a violent thud.

* * *

"....Lenalee, can you hear me? Please, say something. Wake up, Lenalee."

"....What is it?" The exorcist murmured sleepily, keeping her eyes closed. She felt so tired....and her body hurt all over. She couldn't remember what had happened, but suddenly it came back. "Where is everyone else?" Lenalee slowly opened her eyes and blinked against the bright light that entered them, then saw Komui standing over her, and noticed that Reever and Johnny were just behind him, looking over his shoulders. Komui was putting something around her head, and when he moved his hands away, Lenalee lifted her right arm, touched the spot and felt bandages. Now that she was waking up, Lenalee noticed that Reever and Johnny had bandages on their heads and a few on their arms.

"Do you feel alright, Lenalee?" Komui asked gently, holding her hand between both of his. Lenalee slowly sat up and leaned against the windowsill behind her, and discovered she was back in the train compartment. Glancing outside, she noticed that the train appeared to be stopped. "We asked the conductor to stop for a while. Miranda, Camille, and Emile went to find Lavi and Shiori. The Akuma made you fall and Lavi caught you and brought you back inside because you were unconscious and your head was bleeding, but after that he went back out to help Shiori fight the Akuma. Your left ankle got broken after the Akuma attacked you, but I just set it and it should heal fine soon." Lenalee smiled softly.

"Thank you....but I want to go look for them, too," she said, and started to slide her feet over the edge of the seat, but Komui put a hand on her shoulder.

"Lenalee, you need to stay here. There could be more Akuma out there and you're injured." Komui's sister frowned and gently pushed his hand away.

"But the others could be hurt, too, and I want to go make sure they're alright. Please, Komui? I'll be fine if Akuma show up, I promise." Reever moved closer to Lenalee.

"I know you're worried, but we are, too. Miranda, Emile, and Camille are looking now, and they have it under control. If they need help, they'll call us—we gave them a Golem so they could contact us. Alright, Lenalee?" After a few moments, Lenalee nodded, though she was still reluctant to stay and wait.

"Yes...you're right, Reever," Lenalee said, sighing, leaning back against the windowsill. "I'm still worried, but they'll be fine and come back. Once they do we'll start out again; it's not that much longer to the new Black Order." Komui smiled and nodded.

"Now try and get some rest, Lenalee," he said and Lenalee stretched out again on the seat and closed her eyes, trying to relax and not let any thoughts about what bad things could happen to her friends come into her mind. _They'll come back, just like Allen did._


	32. Innovation

**I don't own D. Gray Man or any of the characters except mine….so yeah. It's a while since I updated….I've been a bit busy….but not too terribly bad. That said enjoy! **

* * *

Chapter 30 – Innovation

"Shady! Hey, Shady!! If you can hear me, just bark back or think back or something! I know you can hear me, and you're probably just being quiet and trying to sneak up on me!" Facing another direction Lavi yelled, "But it won't work on me, so just give it up now." Camille, who was searching about twenty yards off to Lavi's right, suddenly stopped as she heard a shuffling noise in front of her. Lavi heard her calling his name, Miranda's, and Emile's, so he ran over to her and asked, "What is it?" Camille pointed a slightly shaking finger directly in front of her.

"Th-there's something...coming..." She said quietly, her feet stepping side to side as she anxiously wondered what it could be. "It's a ghost, I know it, and it's going to—"

"A ghost?" Lavi repeated, giving Camille a peculiar but amused look. "You can face Akuma but you're afraid of ghosts?" The Finder blushed a little and smiled faintly, but still looked scared.

"Yes...well....that's...." She stammered, then looked forward as the rustling sound came again, and she gulped and braced herself for what was going to appear. Lavi sighed and got ready to activate his Anti-Akuma Weapon if need be; he'd been carrying it for a while since it was dark and there was no telling if more Akuma were out there or not. Emile ran up and Miranda was right behind him; Lavi turned and held a finger to his lips and pointed in front of him. They nodded and tensed, preparing to deal with whatever appeared. They expected Akuma, and at the worst-case scenario, a Noah or the Earl but they didn't expect a woman to come stumbling out of the darkness. Emile and Lavi's eyes widened and they stared in shock for a moment before they were forced to look away by Camille and Miranda. Then the female finder rushed forward quickly and pulled her normal Finder cloak out of the pack she wore (everyone travelling to the new Order's location was wearing normal clothes now instead of uniforms because they didn't want to have attention brought to them by Akuma) and hurriedly pulled the light brown cloak over the woman's head.

Lavi and Emile stood gingerly and rubbed their heads before walking closer to the person. Her hair was black and somewhat long, reaching almost the middle of her back, and was tangled and messy—like she'd woken up in the morning and hadn't attempted to comb it out. "What are you doing here? And why didn't you have any clothes on?" Camille asked with a bewildered voice, then gasped and threw her arms out when the person's legs suddenly buckled. Miranda leaned closer and by the light of the lantern saw that dark red spots were staining the Finder cloak she was wearing. She'd switched the Time Out ability to Time Reverse, and the German exorcist saw orbs circling the woman as it affected her. "She got hurt somehow," Camille noted sympathetically, and Miranda then noticed something that was familiar about the person.

"She's wearing a…brown collar?" She peered closer and tilted her head. "It's...like what Shiori was wearing. But then...." Miranda trailed off, not seeing how this person could be Shiori. But Lavi, who had stepped closer to get a look at the collar, suddenly got it.

"Hang on, though...remember that if Shady's Innocence got to one-hundred percent Synchronization, then she'd be able to get her human form back." The woman opened her eyes and tried to sit up; Miranda helped her. "But I say we should make sure it's really her." Stepping closer to the woman Lavi looked down and gave her a stern look; he was about a head taller, and her head was level with his shoulder. If this person was Shiori, her new height would take a little getting used to, since usually she was usually around three feet tall. The woman tilted her head back slightly to look up at him and looked anxious. "I have a way to tell if she's really Shady and not just some Akuma masquerading as her." Shiori gave a little jolt and looked alarmed. "Hey, I don't mean that....I just meant that higher-level Akuma can change their form." Lavi was getting a feeling that she wasn't an Akuma, but still, he had an idea to make absolutely sure. Slipping a hand into his pocket, Lavi pulled out a handful of brown pearl rice that he still had and without any warning he tossed it at Shiori. If an Akuma had transformed into Shiori it probably would have just looked at him like he was crazy. But Lavi was convinced that the exorcist in front of him was Shiori when she screamed like a banshee and frantically began brushing as many of the bits of rice off as she could. Camille, Miranda, and Emile gawked at the scene while Lavi chuckled and tried to calm her down.

"She's afraid of....rice?" Camille questioned, baffled, and Lavi looked over his shoulder briefly.

"Not exactly; it's a long story." Turning back to Shiori, Lavi said, "Shady, calm down, it's just rice. Remember?" Shiori stopped brushing at the rice in her hair and stood slowly, fists clenched as she glared at Lavi. Suddenly she kicked a foot out and it connected into Lavi's shin, and he gave a tense smile and stepped back; the kick hadn't hurt that much but Shiori still looked angry. "Now, now....let's just calm down...we need to get back to the train."

_I know you've tricked me dozens of times with that rice thing but it STILL annoys me to high heaven. _Shaking her head, Shiori took a deep breath through her nose and let it out. _Nevermind._ _Lavi, __I've been looking for Lenalee but I haven't found her yet._

"She's fine, Shady. After she fell I caught her," Lavi said quickly and firmly when he saw how upset and guilty Shiori looked. "Lenalee's back on the train now and everyone's waiting for us to come back. But what about the Akuma? Did you get it?" Shiori nodded weakly and, with Camille and Miranda helping her, shakily stood up.

_Yeah, I got it,_ Shiori thought, then shook her head and gave a short laugh. _I guess I don't need to think to communicate anymore._

"That's right, you're not a human and not a dog now," Lavi said with a teasing grin and Shiori sighed.

".....Wolf," the exorcist said, and her voice sounded like she was trying to talk while choking on something. Shiori tried to clear her throat and speak again. "I haven't actually... talked...in a long time. It feels....strange," she commented, and Camille took her arm, then tugged it slightly.

"Why…um…don't you have your clothes?" Camille asked hesitantly, almost apologetically.

"….When I first…." Shiori swallowed and tried to talk clearly, but she sounded a little funny; years of her voice not being used to make human sounds made her sound a bit like she was talking with her mouth full so a few times she had to repeat her sentences. "When I first synchronized with my Innocence…um…." She rubbed her head and sighed. "…It made a shockwave that kind of vaporized lots of things around me…including my clothes. And there was no reason to have them until now, so….that's why." Camille nodded, then flinched; it wasn't the time for her to be asking questions. They were vulnerable out in the field even when the Akuma had been destroyed.

"Let's get back to the train; it's just over there. Can you walk?" Shiori looked off in the distance at the train and nodded. "Alright." With Miranda and Camille walking on either side of Shiori—since she was walking awkwardly—and Lavi and Emile leading they soon boarded the train again and headed to the compartment where Komui was with Lenalee, Reever, and Johnny. Lavi slid the door open quietly in case Lenalee was still asleep.

"Surprise," he said quietly, and everyone except Lenalee—who was asleep—jumped up.

"Lavi, did you find her?" Komui asked, and stepped out into the hall. He noted Camille and Miranda with a person he'd never seen standing between them, but didn't see the black-furred wolf anywhere. The Head of The Black Order noticed, perplexed, that Lavi was grinning.

"Well, you get three guesses. Don't think too hard." Komui raised an eyebrow, and looked again at the three people standing in the hall, and suddenly he understood as he looked closer at the person he'd never seen before.

"You?" He asked, incredulous, pointing towards the woman in the middle and she shrugged, looking embarrassed. "Your Synchronization reached one-hundred percent?"

"I must have done something that my Innocence liked me for," Shiori said, smiling awkwardly while rubbing the back of her head.

"That's great!" Johnny exclaimed, and Reever was nodding.

"Good to hear," he added. "You all must be tired, though, and since Miranda's still keeping Time Record activated a few of you must be injured. I'll go and tell the conductor we're ready to go."

"Thank you, Reever," Komui said as the researcher left for the front of the train. He motioned for the compartment across from Lenalee's and Camille, Miranda, and Shiori filed into it while Lavi and Emile went into the one next to theirs. Shiori flopped down onto the seat and leaned over until she was using the windowsill as a pillow. Camille sat down near the door and Miranda sat across from them but didn't lie down. At the Finder's worried look, Miranda gave her a smile.

"I'm fine, really. I don't mind staying up; besides, we're almost there." Just then the train started moving. "It'll be nice when we get there....then we can rest for a while." Camille nodded. She wasn't injured very much, and neither was Miranda; both of them mostly just had cuts and bruises from when they'd been inside the train at the time the Akuma had blown a hole open in it; metal and glass from the windows had cut them and they'd all been jostled from the explosion but luckily they'd been spared from getting more serious injuries since they hadn't been in the compartment directly below the explosion—they'd been a few compartments over. They had been surprised the train was still running, really, from all the damage it had taken. The conductor had been adamant about heading immediately to the next station and switching trains but Komui had convinced him to take them to the station closest to the new Order's location and reluctantly the conductor had agreed.

As she sat inside the compartment Miranda gazed at her Time Record and was thinking that it would be useful if she could activate both its abilities at the same time. Time Recovery was all that was needed now; it kept her friends' injuries away and would keep the train repaired until she deactivated Time Record. Even though her Innocence had everything under control now, Miranda wondered again if she could activate both abilities of Time Record at once. She'd though of and attempted it before, but when she tried to activate her Innocence's other ability, it would just switch to that one instead of activating in addition to the first. Maybe if she practiced more she could. Miranda looked up as the door to her compartment slid open. Lenalee stood in the doorway with a smile.

"Mind if I come in?" She asked.

"Not at all." Lenalee took a seat across from Miranda so they could keep eye contact. "How are you doing? I know Time Record's activated, but…"

"Oh, no, I'm fine. I'll be fine even when you have to deactivate Time Record; we're all going to see Matron once we get to the new Branch." Lenalee said, then suddenly looked thoughtful. "I wonder what it will be like. I'm kind of excited to see what the place looks like, aren't you?" Miranda nodded, smiling.

"Yes, I am. It's on the ground, which will make things easier for everyone. I don't like going down into town when I need to go get things. Not many people climb down, so Lavi gives everyone rides. He doesn't mind doing that, but still I think he might like the new location."

"I bet you're right. I think everyone will. I know I will. My brother said that there are natural underground hot springs in the area that they're going to use to…. " Suddenly they noticed that the train was slowing down and could hear the brakes grinding as they worked to stop the train. "I wonder if we're here," Lenalee thought aloud, standing and reaching towards the door. Her hand was about to open it when it slid open. Komui was standing at the door.

"We've arrived at the station. Now we just need to walk the last few miles to the new Order. Are you going to be alright keeping Time Record activated for that amount of time, Miranda?"

"Yes, I'll be fine," Miranda answered resolutely, then stood up and followed Komui and Lenalee out into the hall.

"I hope that Allen and Kisho will get there soon," Lenalee said, holding her hands to her face in concern. Komui gave his sister a reassuring smile.

"Bak just contacted me and he's told me that they just arrived at the Asia Branch an hour ago. They're exhausted but they arrived safely and are getting their injuries treated. Now we need to focus on getting to our destination, too, so cheer up." Lenalee smiled and nodded, then stepped off the train and found the rest of her friends as they started the last long trek towards the new Black Order.


	33. Respite

**It's been a while so I'll just get on with it! I think that might make people relieved. :)  
I do not own D-Gray Man or its characters or concepts. I own my OC's but that's about it. Without further ado here's Chapter 31! The chapter numbers seem not to be correct at first because I put in some bonus chapters that had no chapter number. If I get confused and skip chapter numbers or repeat that's probably why but usually I do my best to get them right. This latest chapter is brought to you by Timcampy who will be distracting me from talking so you can read.**

**Timcampy: … (Bites)**

**Me: He bit by tongue!**

Chapter 31 - Respite

"Well, well, if it isn't the brat. So we meet again," the Asia Branch's guardian said ominously, cracking her knuckles. "The fact that he's come back here must mean he wants a fight." Bak narrowed his eyes and turned towards Fo after he finished treating Kisho. Bak had given the young teenager anesthetic, re-stitched up the large Akuma bite wound, and then given him medicine to help with the pain that would come when the anesthetic wore off; Kisho had fallen sound asleep shortly after the treatment, exhausted from his injuries and the last little walk to the Asia Branch. Now Bak was examining his broken arm more carefully, having just briefly checked when Allen and Kisho had arrived to make sure there was no bone piercing the skin. While Bak treated Allen's injured leg he told Bak that he had set it. Looking at it now he was silently impressed that he'd managed to set it so well. Bak now carefully cut the sling from Kisho's arm, removed the bandage and switched out the large twig for a proper splint, re-bandaged the arm, then put it in a new sling.

"You absolutely cannot fight him this time, Fo. I specifically told you not to fight him last time and you did anyway. You almost cut his hand in half."

"It wasn't that bad," Fo snorted, and Bak lifted the teenager's right hand. Fo couldn't help but see where a scar stretched from the base of his pointer finger to his wrist. Bak gave Fo a look but she just crossed her arms and gave an irritated sigh. "And he almost cut his own hand in half; that wasn't _my_ fault!" The guardian snapped back angrily. "Also, just because he doesn't have his Innocence anymore doesn't mean we can't just duke it out mano a mano."

"Actually, it does. He's a Finder now, and it seems he can find fragments of the Heart. It's still hard to believe but Komui, Lavi, Hevlaska, and that other Finder Emile confirmed it. If you fought him there's a good chance you'd wind up killing him and that isn't acceptable." Bak suddenly put a hand on Kisho's forehead and discovered it felt hot. "Does he have a cold?" Fo snorted with laughter.

"He's an idiot, but he still caught a cold. That's hilarious." Bak stood and gave Fo a little shove towards the door and in turn she cuffed him over the head, knocking the beret he wore onto the tiled floor. Stooping quickly she grabbed it and put it on her head, grabbed Bak's clipboard from Kisho's bed, put one hand on her hip and strolled around the room with the clipboard in her other hand.

"Are you trying to imitate Komui or me?" Bak gave Fo an amused smile but still gestured for her to leave. "He needs to recover and I don't know what you'd do to him." Bak and Fo looked at Allen, then back at each other, and a gleam had come into the Guardian's eyes. "The same thing goes for Allen, so leave him alone," Bak ordered. Fo glared at him, stuck her tongue out at and exited the room grumpily, still wearing Bak's beret. "Hey, Fo," he yelled after Fo suddenly, "I still need that—" A moment later the clipboard flew into the room and landed on Allen's head, causing him to jolt awake, grab the clipboard and toss it like a frisbee. It flew across the room and smashed into the wall, then fell to the floor with a clatter. Allen sat up slowly and rubbed his eyes, then the spot where the clipboard had hit him. "Good morning, Allen. Good very early morning, actually." Allen yawned widely and stretched his arms, then looked at his hands. There were bandages around his wrists where they'd been burned, and as Allen pulled the covers off he saw that his left ankle still had a splint and thick bandage on it, but guessed and hoped that Bak had taken the one the Noah had put on him and replaced it.

As he slid his legs over the edge of the bed Bak looked up with a frown. "Allen, you still need to rest. In a week I'll see if you're well enough to be moving around and if you are soon you'll be able to go to the new Main Branch. But for now, you're not going anywhere." Bak finished bandaging Kisho, sat him up, and pulled his shirt back on. Looking at Kisho's uniform he shook his head. "Exorcists go through uniforms like socks." Before the two had fallen asleep, Bak had given Allen a blue buttoned Chinese shirt and black pants to wear, and Kisho a red buttoned Chinese shirt and black pants. "I'll get some new uniforms for you later. For now, though, I imagine you're hungry so I'll go get you some food." Immediately Allen perked up.

"Really? In that case, I want Hungarian Goulash, chicken Caesar salad, shrimp penne, pork curry, twenty dumplings, clam chowder, mitarashi dango, and..." Bak began sweating nervously as the list went on, and when Allen had reached the tenth item on his personal menu Bak interrupted Allen.

"Hold on a second!" Bak yelled, then calmed and suggested gingerly, "It's five AM; are you sure you don't want breakfast now?" Allen's eyes brightened and he clapped his hands together.

"That's a good idea...breakfast would be great too. Could I have an omelet with cheese, hash browns, sausage, pancakes, and some orange juice?" Bak stared wide-eyed at Allen.

"Too...?" He asked blankly, then rubbed his head and made for the door of the infirmary. "Coming right up...I'll go talk to the cook. It might take a little while for everything to get done, though."

"Well, that's fine. I'm just really hungry…."

"I can tell," Bak muttered.

"…..so as long as it gets here I can wait." At the Noah's headquarters Allen hadn't been fed anything, and after he'd escaped, neither he nor Kisho had gotten anything to eat. His stomach felt like it was going to start gnawing on itself soon.

"Just don't make yourself sick after not eating for so long. Try and eat slowly." Allen sighed and nodded. "Well…I'll be back as soon as I can. Watch him for me, will you? He'll probably wake up in a few more hours." Allen's gaze drifted over to Kisho, who was breathing lightly as he slept.

"I'll watch him," the exorcist agreed, and Bak left to file Allen's very large meal order.

_I hope he recovers __and can go to the Main Branch soon__...if he doesn't, then he'll eat us out of house and home..._ Bak's serious frown turned into a smile suddenly. _B__ut I guess it's just a sign that Allen's still Allen._

It had been a few days since Allen and Kisho had arrived at the Asia Branch, but they had slept and eaten while they waited to recover enough in order to travel to the Main Branch. Allen was walking around on crutches while his ankle started to heal but Bak had said it'd heal in another week or so. Ever since Kisho's right arm had been broken he'd been struggling to get used to using his other one until it healed, which would also be in another few weeks. Kisho was frustrated at Fo trying to teach him to write with his left hand and Allen was frustrated that he wasn't healing as quickly as he wanted. Already they were getting impatient to go back to the Main Branch. Kisho was counting down the days towards August twenty-second, which was Shiori's birthday, and she'd turn seventeen. It was the ninth of August currently and Kisho was a little worried that he wouldn't make it in time. He didn't know how long it would take them both to fully recover or how long it would take for them to get to the new Main Branch but it could be weeks. Putting the thought aside for now, Kisho finished eating and left the cafeteria, thinking that the cook here was just as good as Jerry, but hard of hearing for Kisho had needed to yell his order a few times before the old man understood. He didn't seem to be as patient, because the cook had shouted some things that Kisho hadn't learned in Chinese yet but assumed weren't flattering. Nevertheless Kisho had gotten his chicken curry, a glass of water, and the goldfish that he'd always wanted. Upon seeing the small flopping fish on a small white plate Kisho had slammed his tray down on the nearest table, quickly picked the fish up and dropped it into his glass of water. Kisho tried to get the cook's attention to ask him to take the fish back but failed, as the old man was now busily cooking again because another exorcist had come up and ordered food, leaving Kisho to decide that he'd return and ask later.

Sitting quietly at one of the cafeteria tables, Kisho had finished his meal, cleaned the tray and deposited on a small rolling table that had a few other dirty trays on it. The teenager now walked along the hall with the cup of water in his left hand. He was alternately watching the goldfish swim and making sure he wouldn't crash into anyone while he was walking. As Kisho looked up to check his course, he noticed that he was walking towards a library. Interested, he walked into it and headed towards a bookshelf and randomly began browsing its shelves. A book with a strange symbol on it caught his eye and he placed the cup on the table, then pulled the book off the shelf and sat down to read it. Kisho opened the book, then blinked in confusion when he scanned the writing on the pages. It was a language he'd never seen before, and the words were written in a scrawling, swooping script that he had no idea how to read. For a minute he thought it looked familiar because of the way some of the symbols looked; flipping through a few pages he saw more symbols that looked similar to Japanese writing. It was probably just coincidence, but still Kisho kept flipping through the pages, interested in the strange script. Somewhere in the middle of the book there was an illustration of a large character that looked like the syllable 'Ro' in Japanese, which to some—depending on which language they'd grown up around—would look like the number three. Branching out from the middle of the three shape was a symbol that looked like the top part of a question mark facing downward, and above those symbols was one last marking: a dot with a half-circle under it.

Looking at it intently, Kisho saw smaller characters under the large illustration and although he assumed they were describing the picture he couldn't read what they said. Shrugging, Kisho was about to turn the page when someone's hand clapped over his shoulder. He jumped and looked up to see Allen leaning over him. He didn't have any crutches but looked like he was mostly putting his weight on his right foot. "Catching up on some reading? Are you planning to take yet _another_ book from the library?" He asked jokingly, grinning. "This time it really would be stealing, since I doubt you'd come all the way back out here to return it," he said. Smiling derisively back Kisho pushed Allen's hand from his shoulder.

"I was bored. This was the first book that looked interesting. And just so you know I took that book back to the library before I left on the mission with Lavi. They probably have emptied the library and moved the books to the new Order now."

"How's your arm?" Allen asked, and Kisho looked down at his right arm that was still wrapped with a white bandage and in a sling.

"It's fine. Bak said it would probably be healed in five or six more weeks, and after that he wants me to start using it again so it can get back to normal." Unexpectedly Kisho shuddered. "I overheard Fong talking to Bak about putting leeches on it, but he said it wasn't swelling so he didn't need to. I'm hoping it stays that way." Allen cringed, then his gaze drifted down to the page Kisho was on and his eyes widened in recognition. Kisho raised an eyebrow, looked back at the book, but didn't see anything out of the ordinary; Timcampy was perched on the page just above the large illustrated symbol but he didn't look like he was planning to eat the pages.

"What's wrong?" He asked, giving Allen a strange look as he leaned closer over the book.

"Do you know what this symbol means?" He asked, studying the image carefully, and Kisho shook his head.

"It's some language I've never seen before. Have you seen it somewhere?" Allen sat down at the table and looked at Kisho with a serious expression.

"I've seen something like it, once, but it was a little different than this." Allen pointed to the question-mark part of the symbol. "This wasn't on the one I saw. I wonder what it means." Kisho looked around.

"You have any paper? Maybe we can write it down and ask someone around here or at the Main Branch when we get back." Allen looked like he'd though of something.

"Reever's good at languages—maybe he'll know what it means or what language it's in." Allen put something on the table; Kisho observed that it was a clipboard with a piece of paper clipped to it. "I think there was a pencil with it..." he muttered, checking his pockets, and Kisho started to do the same. He was still wearing the red shirt Bak had given on him since he liked the color, but he'd gotten another pair of black pants similar to the pair that went with the exorcist's uniform. _I might have to start wearing that cloak the Finders wear soon_, Kisho wondered, but put the thought aside as he pulled something out of his pocket. He'd lost the razor back at the Noah's hideout, and he couldn't find the toothbrush he stabbed Tykki with (not that he wanted either item), but when he searched his other pocket Kisho located the bar of soap he'd taken.

"I forgot about this," Kisho said, mostly to himself, but Allen heard and paused in the middle of drawing the symbol in the book (he'd finally found a pencil in a slot on the clipboard).

"Soap?" He asked, raising an eyebrow. "Where'd you get that?" Kisho toyed with the idea of saying, 'Oh, I just found it lying around here', but he sighed and decided to just say where he'd really gotten it.

"When I got to the Noah's headquarters I tried to find something that I could fight with since I didn't have my Anti-Akuma Weapon anymore...so I looked around in a room and found this."

"A bar of soap," Allen repeated, then held a hand to his face just in time to muffle a snort of laughter. "And…oh, right…you stabbed Tykki with a toothbrush. Did you find anything else during your raid for toiletries?" Kisho rolled his eyes.

"I found a razor, too, but I dropped it when Tykki attacked me, before I met up with you." Allen tried composing himself long enough to talk.

"Where were you when you found all that?" Kisho hesitated for a moment, getting the feeling that Allen already knew because of the type of items he'd taken.

"...In a...bathroom..." Allen couldn't help it; he started laughing hysterically, causing Timcampy to light in surprise.

"A bathroom! Really? Had to take care of some business, did you?" Kisho jumped to his feet and felt his face going hot from anger and embarrassment.

"No! I went in the bathroom because I thought it probably had a lock and I didn't think even those Noah would just barge into a bathroom without knocking! I'd be safe for a while, at least!" Kisho yelled at the top of his lungs. "And I didn't want to just walk around vulnerable! I had to have some kind of weapon," he added desperately.

"You stole some of their stuff," Allen choked, bending over and holding his stomach. "You're a regular little kleptomaniac, aren't you?" He gasped in between laughs, putting a hand to his eyes to wipe the tears that were streaming from them.

"A kleptomaniac?" A voice said from nearby, and the two males turned to see Fo, Bak, Lo Hwa, Likei, and Shifu standing there. It was Fo who'd spoken, and she was cracking her knuckles, while Bak and Likei looked like they were about to start laughing like Allen. Lo Hua and Shifu just looked at a loss for what to say. "Well, we can't have a thief be part of The Black Order, can we?"

"I'm afraid we can't," Bak sighed, shaking his head in disappointment. "People in the Order need to prove that they're trustworthy."

"Why did you have to do something like this?" Lo Hua asked, her eyes tearing up a little. Kisho stared at all of them in stunned silence, his mouth hanging open a little.

"Wh...I don't...why do you care that I stole stuff from _them_?" Kisho waved an arm dismissively. "There's no way you guys are serious." No one said anything; they just stared angrily or gave him disappointed looks. Kisho sighed, exasperated. "So what, are you going to kick me out or something?" Fo gave Kisho a harsh glare.

"Be glad you're _here_," she growled threateningly, cracking her knuckles. "If you'd been at the Main Branch they would have thrown you off a cliff. But since you're not, we might just go tie you to some bamboo and wait until the pandas come." Allen stepped up behind Kisho and put his hands on the bewildered teen's shoulders.

"Don't be too hard on him; he's just a kid," Allen, and Kisho narrowed his eyes when he heard that he had started laughing even harder. He looked at Lo Hua and saw that tears were pouring from her eyes, but realized now that she had been on the verge of laughing, not crying. Bak, Likei, Fo, and Shifu had started laughing or smiling and Kisho held his hands up.

_"You are all crazy," _Kisho said, shaking his head in annoyance, and received a few surprised looks—mainly from Allen, who hadn't understood a word he'd said.

"What did you say?"

"Oh, that's it, you were the interpreter in Wuhan," Lo Hua said with interest.

"What'd you say to that innkeeper? It was something weird, right?" Allen asked and Kisho closed his eyes. "You said something like you used the wrong tone?" Kisho sighed and crossed his arms.

"It doesn't matter now, does it?" Likei pressed Kisho to explain more.

"Yes, it matters. How much did you improve?" The former exorcist rubbed his head.

"You'll laugh at me some more, but fine. I asked him '_Do you have any lions?'._I was trying to ask if he had any…." He broke off, annoyed that he was showing embarrassment.

"Any rooms, am I right?" Fo asked, and Kisho nodded once stiffly. Likei and Shifu groaned, Fo rubbed her head, but Lo Hua giggled and Bak gave a half-smile. "You didn't improve much," Fo commented. "Well, you figured out what you did, at least, so I guess that's a form of improvement. You need to practice more—you could stay here while we train you as a Finder."

"A Finder?" Kisho asked, even though he'd been waiting for someone to bring it up, and Bak nodded.

"Being an exorcist isn't the only thing you can do—I told Allen the same thing, but he has more skills as an exorcist, while you seem to be more inclined towards being a Finder." Kisho gave Bak a doubtful glance.

"Because I can find Innocence, right?" He asked. "Well, for the most part. I don't remember finding the one in Sweden." and received a head shake from Bak.

"That's not all I mean. When you were in the Noah's territory, what did you do?" Kisho thought back.

"Well, I almost got killed...twice. Once by a Skull and the second time by a Noah. I don't know if that would make a good anything," Kisho said, shrugging his shoulders. Lo Hua spoke up suddenly.

"But after that, didn't you just say that you hid and looked for things you could use to defend yourself? And you sent Timcampy off with the Innocence to find Allen." Kisho looked at her and the girl turned a little pink. "Allen told us."

"Exorcists must be trained for combat," Bak began, "while Finders must be trained to be stealthy, and they have to learn how to use their surroundings, and they're given some medical training. They also have to be good at gathering information without arousing too much suspicion. And when things start to look bad...they do what you did." Kisho remained silent, his heart thumping a little. "Make sure to put exorcists first instead of themselves." Allen's expression darkened and he looked away, fists clenched, but he didn't say anything. "But the fact that we got both of you back in one piece is more than anyone thought was possible. Our priority was getting Allen back, because of you, we did. That's why we have you to thank."

"Don't just thank me...Lavi, Emile, Hevlaska, and Komui helped, too. I mean...Hevlaska was the one who gave me advice about what to do. I just...did it."

"Exactly," Bak said, and Kisho felt a pulse of confusion, but also relief. "Though to be honest, in days to come you may be condemned for your actions even though Komui gave you permission to go. Because he didn't know that you would be taken to the Noah's territory, there's some debate as to whether that permission was valid." Kisho and Allen could tell that Bak was agitated and believed in Komui's judgment.

"What can we do?" Allen asked seriously, and Bak waved a hand.

"For now, nothing. Since Komui's busy with taking care of things in the new Main Branch any inquiries have been postponed. We'll let you know if you need to be prepared to justify your actions, Kisho." The fourteen-year-old swallowed and nodded, knowing all too well who the person Kisho might need to talk to was, and he tried to keep from showing how apprehensive he was. The last time been confronted by said person, well….he tried not to think about it.

**Do I leave off on random places? Well, anyway…the chapter was over ten pages so I am not sure how long that'd be on Fanfiction. I don't think about chapter breaks when I type…I only think about them when I actually start sectioning the chapters so I can upload them. It's been a while since I uploaded a chapter. I've been busy with classes and tests and papers but I still have been typing because it's one of my favorite things to do. ^_^ Hope everyone reading this is still enjoying it! It's fun isn't it? I think it is!**


	34. Midway

**I am sooo sorry for the chapter delay! I've been busy! Classes are almost out and then I'll be updating more frequently.**

**Kisho: Don't listen to her, she's had plenty of time to be a chicken in that new game she bought….The Calling, wasn't it?**

**Me: Oh yes. I changed it to Japanese audio which is cool. But it's a scary game. When I'm scared I stay in one place and don't move. Doesn't make much progress in a game. Scary movies are okay because they move along on their own.**

**Kisho: See? Chicken. Well suck it up and find a way to help the ghosts.**

**Me: Right. I just need to find new flashlight batteries so I can properly see the vengeful spirits coming to get me. I don't own D. Gray Man, its characters, or themes, or outfits or Innocence. I just own my two original characters. Thanks for being patient. I hope you will enjoy the chapter! If not then I will give you your money back. ;)**

* * *

Chapter 32 - Midway

"I understand," Kisho said steadily, then looked concerned about something. Bak stepped closer to him and gave him a concerned look.

"And if there's anything you want to know, just ask me. Alright?" Kisho looked up and looked like he was biting his tongue. "Whatever it is, go ahead."

"Okay. I want to know if the cook has a goldfish for a pet." Silence reigned through the room for several long moments as everyone stared at him. _Great diversion tactic, genius…._ "I'm serious. Does he?"

"What is the matter with you? Why do you want to know _that_?" Fo demanded, hands on her hips. "Bak didn't mean ask stupid questions! He's a busy guy!"

"It doesn't matter, Fo," Bak said, then turned back to Kisho. "He doesn't have a pet fish, at least not that I know of. Why?" The fourteen-year-old pointed at the reading table.

"When I was getting food he gave me a goldfish….I might have said the wrong word." Fo snorted, as if to say, You think? "I can't remember now." Sometimes Kisho said strange things in English since he was still clumsy with it. Kisho pointed at the table, where the goldfish was in the cup of water. "He's in there."

"The cook?" Likei asked, grinning, and everyone laughed.

"No," Kisho said after laughing, "I tried to give it back to him but he didn't hear me." Fo laughed and held up her arms.

"You're strange, but not the strangest person I've met," she said, still chuckling, and at this she looked at Bak who sighed. "By the way, what are you going to name your new fish?" She asked mischievously, then yawned. "I think it's safe to say you can keep him. I don't know where the cook found a goldfish, though. I'm going to turn in for tonight. And you look like you should too kid. One more thing: keep your germs away from me." Fo left, and Kisho half-smiled; he'd been feeling sick right when he got to The Asia Branch, but was feeling better now, though bet he was still contagious.

"I'm going to turn in, too," Allen yawned, but walked back to the reading table to pick up a piece of paper. Sliding it inside the pocket of his pants, he turned and waved at everyone, then walked out of the library. Lo Hua blushed and smiled.

"Good night," she said and Allen turned to smile at her, which made her blush more and look at her feet. Kisho picked the book up from the table and returned it to the shelf, but Bak got a glimpse of the sketch on the page and put a hand to his face in thought, suddenly looking serious.

"You were reading that?" He asked, and Kisho turned and gave a half shrug.

"Well….I took it but I can't really read it. I was just a little bored and thought it looked interesting," he answered, and Bak gave an understanding nod.

"I see. Well, have a good rest. I think that you'll be able to go back to the Main Branch early next week, depending on how you're both recovering. And don't overdo it, or else you'll get worse, and you'll have to wait here until you're completely better."

"Alright," Kisho replied, hoping he wouldn't get back to the Main Branch too late. "Well, goodnight, everyone."

"Night," Likei and Shifu responded as he left. Lo Hua waved as he exited the library and then looked back at the table where Kisho had been reading.

"Wait!" She cried, running to the table and taking the cup of water with the goldfish in it, and Kisho turned towards her and held his hands out. "You forgot your goldfish," she said, smiling at the swimming fish, but glaring at Likei and Shifu when they snickered.

"Goodnight, guys, and goodnight Mr. Goldfish." Still laughing quietly to themselves they left the library and headed down the hall. "I can get some food for him if you want."

"Oh, yeah...that's a good idea. I don't want to starve him. Thanks." Lo Hua nodded and walked with Kisho to the cafeteria where they found it empty, but unlocked, so they went into the back storage room and got some pieces of bread. Kisho sighed as they left, wondering if Lo Hua was going to call him a kleptomaniac again even they'd both decided to raid the kitchen. Kisho and Lo Hua headed back to the infirmary in silence, but Lo Hua would giggle every now and then when she put tiny bread crumbs in the cup of water and watched the goldfish swallow them.

"He's so cute," she remarked. "You could name him Allen," she said cheerfully, then put both hands over her mouth as Kisho looked up quickly. "Uh, I mean, I was just kidding. Name him whatever you want."

"Uh-huh...." Kisho said, a half-smile across his face. "Allen it is," he said, teasing, and Lo Hua frowned at him angrily.

"Don't you dare call him Allen!" Kisho held one hand up calmingly.

"Alright, I won't, I won't, I swear," he said seriously, trying to keep his face straight so he wouldn't start laughing. "We could name him after Timcampy since he's gold." Lo Hua smiled.

"That might be a little weird too.....but…Well, anyway, I'll let you go to bed. See you and Allen tomorrow."

"Yeah, goodnight." Kisho was turning to open the door of the infirmary when Lo Hua clutched his arm and stopped him.

"Hey....thank you...thank you for helping Allen. It'd have been terrible if he...h-hadn't come back. So, thank you!" Kisho rubbed his head.

"Well...you know..." he muttered, not sure what to say. He didn't feel like just saying 'you're welcome'. If he'd gotten her a present, maybe saying that would have been fine. "I knew what I could do and I did it. That's all." Lo Hua tilted her head and gave him a curious look.

"That's all?" She asked. Looking at Lo Hua Kisho felt his face burning and noticed his heart was thumping faster; did she know she was being that cute, or was she just cute without even trying?

"I'd try and help anyone if I could, even BaKanda," Kisho laughed, remembering the name Allen used when he was annoyed at the older exorcist…which was all the time, pretty much. He finally managed to say and Lo Hua, hoping she hadn't noticed his face. Suddenly she reached up and lightly touched the side of his face, and frowned.

"You're really hot. You should go to bed and get a good rest so you'll recover." Kisho, slightly at a loss for words, nodded once.

"Okay." He looked at the cup of water in his hand. "Goodnight," he said. Lo Hua nodded, turned, and walked down the hall. Sighing in relief Kisho opened the infirmary door, shut it quickly and quietly behind him, turned around and bumped right into Allen. The cup flew into the air, the water and fish splashed out of the cup. Allen grabbed it and held it so that the water and goldfish just fell back into the cup. Kisho took it as the exorcist handed it to him and mumbled, "Thanks." Gingerly looking up the fourteen-year-old saw a slight grin (or frown, he couldn't tell in the room's dim light) on Allen's face.

"Do you like Lo Hua? You sounded like a mess," he observed, and Kisho glared at him.

"She's nice, if that's what you mean. And, let's face it, she's a cute girl....but that doesn't mean I like her...like _that_, at least."

"Right..."

"I think she's got more of a crush on _you_, if you ask me. She was worried about you." Allen's eyes widened a little and he didn't say anything and Kisho scoffed, irritated. "I'm going to sleep now. Goodnight." Brushing crossly past Allen, for like most people when Kisho was tired he became irritable, the teenager set the cup of water onto the stand beside the bed he was using and burrowed under the covers. Allen closed the door quietly and headed for his bed and saw that Timcampy was curled up on the bedside table next to the lamp.

"Hey," Allen said after a while, and Kisho mumbled sleepily.

"What? I'm tired...can't this wait?" He asked groggily, and tugged the covers tighter around him.

"Thanks. Being here now was more than I hoped for." Kisho sat up and rubbed his eyes, yawning.

"Don't worry about it," Kisho mumbled, still tired, "and not to be rude or anything, but I really want to go to sleep." The teenager huddled back under the covers but Allen threw a pillow at him which made him sit straight up in bed, clutching the pillow angrily.

"You didn't really want to be an exorcist, did you." Kisho's arm, positioned to throw the pillow at Allen, froze. "When my Anti-Akuma Weapon was destroyed, I made sure I got it back, because I didn't want to be doing something different than what my friends were doing—not just so I could blindly follow some trend, but because I wanted to be fighting with them and keep helping Akuma be freed. Later I wanted to do that and get to know my friends better. But you…well, to be honest, it seemed like you easily threw being an exorcist away." Kisho felt a little pulse of guilt.

"I didn't know any of that would happen. I don't regret that it did—I mean, I'm still alive, which is more than _I_ hoped for." Allen narrowed his eyes at Kisho but didn't say anything. "I don't…think of exorcists any less now. I know what they go through. But you're right, my heart wasn't really into being an exorcist…and now I know I wasn't cut out for the job, for a lot of reasons." Kisho thought for a moment, then at the look Allen gave him said hastily, "It sounded different for you; there was a chance that you could get your Anti-Akuma Weapon back and you fought for it—you took it. I knew there was no chance for me because Hevlaska and the Innocence told me that it didn't belong to me anymore, and that I had to take it to you. Staying an exorcist was your way and being a Finder must be mine. I think everyone knew if you didn't make it back those Noah would have made you betray The Black Order and then killed you." Kisho stared up at the ceiling. "It's not because of you or anyone that I'm not an exorcist anymore." Allen just stared at him, feeling a mixture of annoyance and realization. "I think that I felt, from the beginning, that I wasn't really cut out to be an exorcist. I know that Finders and exorcists thought that I was too weak to be an exorcist and they weren't far off." Here Kisho looked down at his hands, which were clenched together. "I knew deep down that I didn't have it in me to kill anything."

"Even an Akuma?" Allen asked.

"Even an Akuma, even to set its soul free. Even if it was one of my family. I was a coward." Allen raised an eyebrow.

"Was?" Kisho looked startled and ashamed, but then gave a halfhearted laugh and rubbed his head.

"Good one….I acted like being an exorcist didn't bother me but it did. I just wanted to be with Shiori, at first….even if I hadn't seen her for a long time that was still selfish of me."

Kisho looked away and Allen half wanted to agree with him. "The Level Three on the last mission was the only one I've destroyed, and that was because Lavi was there. And…I don't exactly remember destroying it even if he said I did."

"So," Allen began, warily, "when your home was attacked your Innocence didn't activate?" He received a nod in response.

"That's right." Kisho paused for a moment, biting his lip, then continued. "I couldn't use my Innocence the first time I got it, which is probably why everyone in the town died and the whole place was wiped out." Allen's eyes flashed and Kisho swallowed, then kept going. "After that I still had a hard time getting it to activate. Hevlaska checked me and my Anti-Akuma Weapon a lot to make sure my Synchronization rate wasn't dropping and it never did, but even though I kept training it just stopped at fifty percent." He looked at Allen, and the guilt in his eyes was covered momentarily by curiosity. "That doesn't happen to other Equip types, even if their Sync rate doesn't get as high as Parasite types, right?"

"Usually not," the older person said, grimly. "If it does, then it means their Innocence probably will start decreasing, drop, and if it gets below zero the exorcist becomes a Fallen One." That stopped the conversation for a few minutes until Allen started speaking again to break the silence. "Lenalee's Innocence isn't Parasite—" _Or Equip, either, _Allen thought before finishing his sentence, "and her Synchronization rate is pretty high."

"That makes sense," Kisho admitted, feeling a pulse of admiration for Lenalee. He'd trained with her and knew how strong and agile she was. "I was never as strong an exorcist as you guys. I'm not trying to sound like I have an inferiority complex, but I never worked with my Anti-Akuma Weapon as well as most exorcists. Komui and Hevlaska were ready to take my Innocence back in case the Sync rate started dropping. But….I'm relieved that it didn't, because I was expecting it to….and heard that it might." Absently, Kisho traced patterns with his pointer finger in the white bed sheet. "Like I said I was too afraid to kill Akuma. When I wanted to be an exorcist just because I could be in the same place as Shiori….even if I would have to deal with fighting Akuma someday, I became one." Allen thought about Chaoji and suddenly understood more about how Innocence worked.

"It didn't reject you because although you went with what you felt and knew you couldn't destroy Akuma," Allen said, then kept the thought, _Though I don't think much of you for that_, to himself. _I don't _like _having to destroy them either but it's the only way._

"I never destroyed any because I never really got a chance, though. The first mission I went on was kind of my last," Kisho said, and Allen gave him a look.

"Be quiet and listen. You destroyed the one attacking you and Lavi, which is what exorcists are supposed to do. Even if you were scared you still did something that made your Innocence reacted to your feelings, even if it wasn't Parasite." Kisho gave him a puzzled look. "Innocence wouldn't choose someone who was lying about how they felt. Exorcists who betray themselves or others become Fallen Ones."

"What are you talking about?" Kisho asked, somewhat quickly, as if he wanted to give a guilty confession. "I was lying. I acted like I wasn't scared about being an exorcist, but I was. I realized that after I came here….then knew, even more when I fought Akuma beside Lavi, that I wasn't the right person to be an exorcist."

"That's when you realized the way you really felt," Allen said, trying to make the kid understand, because he was also tired and starting to get pretty fed up. "Somehow, maybe your Innocence knew you'd realize that you shouldn't be an exorcist. Bak told me I could be something else other than an exorcist, but I knew that I wanted to be one more than anything—to protect people and save Akuma—and my Innocence responded to that. You know Chaoji, right? He and I didn't—or don't—really get along." Kisho was surprised. "Well, I get along with him better than I do with Kanda, but anyway…." Allen almost laughed but quickly got back on track. "Tykki, that Noah, has killed exorcists, Finders, Generals, and destroyed who knows how many Innocence. He almost killed me, and Noah were responsible for the death of lots of Chaoji's friends. But even so, when it came down to it, I wanted to save him." Kisho couldn't help feeling confused, though he was intrigued.

"Save him?" He asked, then said, "Points for you. I'd want to keep as much distance between him and me as possible," he said darkly, shuddering at the thought of his encounter with Tykki.

"I don't know. I guess that's just how I am. I don't like seeing the worst outcome of things so I went back to get him. I understood why Chaoji didn't like that I wanted to help an enemy. He couldn't forgive me that I wanted to help the one that had killed his friends. He didn't change his mind....I don't know if he has forgiven me even now, to be honest....but when I was in trouble later he still helped me even if he didn't understand or even like me. And he became an Accommodator after that. I think that there'd be no chance that Innocence would synchronize with someone who had false feelings...meaning, someone that was lying to themselves." Allen looked Kisho squarely in the eyes. "Do you get what I'm saying? No matter what the reason, and no matter who disagrees, Innocence works for its Accommodator because they do what they believe in without shutting out their true feelings and they do what they can to help people." Allen paused, knowing that wasn't true in a few cases, like with Suman. Kisho frowned uncomfortably and thought for a moment. "Although you were putting on a façade at one point, you realized that you couldn't keep doing that."

"Finders…." Allen shook his head, knowing what Kisho was going to say.

"That's not why Finders can't use Innocence; sometimes people just aren't compatible with Innocence. It's dangerous to try and force them to be....although some have been forced to synchronize with Innocence....and it either worked or destroyed them." Kisho didn't say anything for a moment.

"I thought I was pathetic for not being able to save anyone when my town was attacked. My Innocence didn't activate so to be honest, until I talked to Hevlaska recently I was scared that I'd become a Fallen One. But then Hevlaska told me that even though I wasn't an Accommodator anymore, my Innocence still accepted me…" Kisho trailed off. "Maybe my Synchronization rate never started dropping because I had to stick around to help you out." This took Allen aback. Could Innocence be sentient like that? Then he realized that they could, and he'd experienced it—his Anti-Akuma Weapon reacted to his feelings, so why not? "I don't know," Kisho was saying, "but whatever the reason, I'm glad. I was afraid I was going to die back there and never see Shiori again. Now that I seem to have been given more than one second chance…" This made Allen curious.

"What do you mean?" Kisho nodded slowly, a look of remorse on his face.

"I waited this long because I was scared, and wondering how to tell her." There was a pause. "Shiori knows that our mom is dead, but it didn't happen how she thought. She wasn't killed when Akuma attacked our town...." Allen tensed but nodded as he understood.

"She got turned into an Akuma...." he muttered, then gave Kisho a look that was half accusing, half realization. "Was it because of you? And because Cloud Nyne was there, she was able to save you?"

"No, actually, though if things had been just a little different, I wonder if it would have been that way." Kisho replied slowly and Allen blinked in surprise. "Our town was attacked by Akuma. I was asleep, and would have just slept through the attack and died since our house collapsed, but Cloud Nyne must found me and she woke me up. Neither of us knew the Earl was there—I didn't even know who he was—but when we looked through the town for survivors, we found my mom....and he was with her. Shiori and I watched out for her after our dad died but I think she was still grieving. It had been years since he'd died so, even though or maybe because I was little, I thought that had been enough time to move on. I didn't remember him much, but our mom did."

"And she wanted him back," Allen said tersely causing Kisho to nod, his fists clenched so the nails dug into his palms.

"I didn't really get to know him because he died when I was around five years old—so it was easier for me to get over it after a while. I wasn't happy about what had happened, I think Maybe I didn't understand yet what it was really like to miss someone that way, even though after Shiori left I missed her a lot. When the Earl came, everything happened really fast. Akuma suddenly appeared and attacked anyone they saw. I would have been killed too if Cloud Nyne hadn't found me and made me come with her." _I wonder why she did, _Allen thought. _I know that Generals find people of interest to be exorcists, but…._

"I don't remember a lot after that, except that after Cloud Nyne realized I was compatible, I tried to active my Innocence. I had a sickle for farming and it merged into that. I wanted to stop the Akuma from hurting her, but I was too late, and not nearly strong enough to do anything. The Innocence almost activated but the sickle was old and only specialized weapons can handle it….right?" Allen nodded. "The Innocence left the sickle just before it broke, and I grabbed it before the Akuma could get it, but then it attacked me. It wasn't with bullets, obviously, but I still got some scars to remember. I passed out thinking I was going to die but I woke up later and Cloud Nyne told me that we were on a ship going to China, to a place called The Asia Branch. She said that the Earl had lately been targeting families of exorcists. At first….well, she said it seemed random, but he might be finding their families and friends somehow."

"He is," Allen said, grinding his teeth; what the Earl was up to was now widely known. "But he's stupid to think that we'd suddenly fall for it so we've been trying to figure out what he really wants to do. So far we think he's just trying to break them so they won't fight anymore. All of the Branches have been sending teams to protect exorcists' family members. It's been a strain on everyone. That's why we need to beat him." Kisho nodded and swallowed.

"I have to tell Shiori....she needs and deserves to know exactly what happened." Allen nodded his head once.

"Rather than she find out from someone else. It might take a while for her to understand," Allen said. "But I think she'll be fine," he said slowly. "And she knows not to bring her back—even if she could. Like I said, even if that's what the Earl wants, no one around here is that naïve anymore. Shiori might be angry with you for a while, though." Kisho didn't answer right away, but soon he nodded once.

"I know. I kept it for her for a long time." Kisho laughed, but it sounded anxious. "We've always fought with each other. This fight just…might be a little more intense." Kisho rubbed his head, smiling in a worried manner. "I really am going to sleep now. Goodnight," Kisho said, then got back under the covers and closed his eyes.

"Goodnight," Allen responded, and did the same. A short time later both were sleeping soundly.

**Author's Note: Oof well there it is. I am really sorry I took so long to update and then just gave you a bunch of explaining stuff! It will get more interesting later. I'm trying to get the details out now. I realize I focused on Kisho a lot in this chapter but I hope I've been focusing equally on all characters and not just my own. To be honest the reason I wanted to make these OC's was for the purpose of focusing on Allen even if it might not seem that way now. At the very beginning that's how it was but now I'm more deeply developing their background.**

**Kisho: And this is the best you can….**

**Shiori: We are just plot devices, is that it?**

**Me: Um…..er…..,well….it might be like that. But I really do like you guys!**

**Kisho: Yeah…**

**Me: Hey, come back!**


	35. Rebuild

**Author's Note: I think this chapter is kind of meh, but here it is, anyway. Hope people enjoy it!**

**I based the new Order's location off of Heidelberg Castle in Germany (even though the Order is now in Russia somewhere…) because it was pretty big and nice-looking…even though I said that the castle in the story is somewhat run-down and rumoured to be haunted. I'm just full of contradictions! :D  
Anyway, go Topeka—I mean Google—Heidelberg Castle and see what it looks like if you want. I wouldn't say no to a thorough exploration of it!...As long as it was in the daytime. :3**

**Anyone notice I spelled 'rumour' with a 'u'? I'm in Canada now so I decided to do the Canadian spelling! If you did notice, then here is a Nanaimo Bar for you (even though I'm not in Vancouver)! If you didn't, then you get one anyway. ^-~****  
**

Chapter 33 – Rebuild

A small group of people stopped and gazed up at an imposing castle and took a minute to take in all its details. The castle was built next to a large mountain and trees carpeted it all the way up. Deep green pine and fir trees also spread around the castle on the more level ground, surrounding the castle with a thick forest on all sides. The trees were rustling peacefully in the summer breeze and soaking up the early morning sunlight. It was quiet enough for the group to hear a river flowing somewhere nearby. The castle itself had brownstone walls and a few gray-blue roofs could be seen from below. Komui pointed to a large building in a section of the castle.

"Those are a good candidate for the exorcist and Finder dormitories, and over there," Komui indicated a spot in the same area as the dormitories, "is the Infirmary. Those have been getting renovation priorities since a lot of us are tired and injured." The group murmured agreement.

"No kidding," Lavi sighed.

"I could sleep for a week," Camille added, stifling a yawn.

"We'd also like to," Reever grumbled, glaring in the general direction of Komui.

"If _someone_ would let us," Johnny finished for the Australian researcher.

_I want a bath. I think I could grow flowers in my fur,_ Shiori thought. Though she was back in her human form she still wasn't used to being able to speak out loud.

"This is a nice place, and it actually looks like a castle instead of a cake," Lenalee observed with interest and smiled at her brother, who laughed.

"Let's just go in, already," Lavi groaned, exhausted. "We can gawk at everything later." He started walking towards the entrance and the others followed, and once everyone had gotten past the Gatekeeper (who had recently been installed in the large castle doors—Shiori had no idea how such a feat had been performed but she thought it was more fun not knowing) Komui stopped everyone to pull Shiori, Lenalee, Miranda, Johnny, and Reever aside while Lavi, Emile, and Camille waited nearby.

"Wait a moment. You five should go to the infirmary." At first glance the exorcists were uninjured, but that was because Miranda had her Time Record activated, and she was keeping injuries away. "Lavi, Emile—you should go to the dormitories and get some rest. Lots of the rooms now have beds and there are a lot of empty ones so you can just pick which room you want. Later on when everyone's recovered we'll finish putting the rest of the beds in the rooms. After that, if anyone wants to volunteer to go into town with Jerry for groceries and medicine then come to my office and let me know. I'd appreciate it if you spread the word to other exorcists and Finders, too. Camille, if you'd come with me, please. I'd like your help in treating everyone." The group nodded, and then Emile and Lavi left in the direction Komui told them for the dormitories, while the remaining group followed him towards the infirmary. Once inside they saw that Matron had most of the place set up already, and when she spotted them she gestured for them to take a bed. Half a dozen other beds were occupied with injured exorcists; they had either been injured on their missions prior to the move or along the way to the new Main Branch. It had just been discovered that some Akuma had attacked the other trains, too, and exorcists, Finders, and some researchers had been hurt on the way to the new Black Order.

Three Finders and an exorcist had been killed—those deaths had happened on missions—as well as a number of civilians who had been in the towns. The dead exorcist's Innocence had been recovered by the Finder that had been on the mission with him, but his loss had been taken heavily. Some civilians who'd been on the trains had been scheduled to be dropped off before the Black Order members, but unfortunately they had been caught in the fighting, and their families had not been notified of their deaths. They simply would stop writing and visiting and later on be declared missing, which saddened some who heard about it but telling the victims' families would be too dangerous, for them and all of the Black Order branches. The hope was that the Finders' and exorcists' families would believe they'd hear from their family member soon and would wait for them to visit. Soon, however, they would be given up for missing. It was sad, but as long as families hoped there was a chance their loved ones could still be alive, they wouldn't want to call them back from death. That was the hope, anyway.

"Who needs to be treated first?" Shiori pointed to Miranda, who pointed back. Then Reever pointed to Lenalee, Johnny pointed to Shiori, and Miranda stopped pointing at Shiori and pointed at Reever, Lenalee pointed at Reever, and Shiori pointed at Johnny, who pointed at Lenalee. A moment later they let their hands drop and laughed.

"I mean, we're worried about everyone," Johnny said with an embarrassed half-grin.

"Yeah, they need your help first," everyone said at once, causing Matron and Komui to sigh in frustration.

"Would you mind operating on Kimura first?" Komui asked. "She received several deep wounds."

"What kind and where?" Matron asked, moving towards Shiori, who began sulking.

_The Akuma..._ Shiori shook her head and started again out loud. "Bite and puncture wounds..." Slowly she touched the spots where the injuries were, mostly on her back and shoulders. "I think they were bleeding a lot but I can't remember. I guess that makes sense, though…I think." Her voice sounded a little unsteady.

"Well, we'll get you fixed up. Camille, could you get the anesthetic, please?" Matron asked and Camille quickly obeyed and began administering it to Shiori. Finders were required to have medical training in case they or the exorcists they helped got injured, so she knew what to do. The female Finder snuck a quick glance over her should as she waited for the anesthetic to take effect, and she saw Emile and Komui waiting beside Johnny, Reever, and Lenalee. They also had a tray of medical supplies and looked ready to start treating the three of them, too. Matron looked over at Miranda and said gently, "You can deactivate your Innocence now. It'll be alright." Miranda nodded once, reluctantly, then closed her eyes and willed her Innocence to deactivate. The cuts on Johnny and Reever and the gashes on their foreheads opened up again and they had the unpleasant sensation of blood creeping down their foreheads, and tensed when the searing pain returned. Miranda felt her soreness and mild cuts returning, but for the most part felt fine. Lavi, Lenalee, and Shiori had done a good job of keeping the Akuma's attention elsewhere. Emile began treating Johnny and Komui began administering Reever.

Shiori was taken by surprise as well when her injuries returned. Her mouth opened wide as if she was about to gasp or scream, but then it closed and she appeared to go into a daze as blood spurted from her wounds and soaked the Finder's cloak she was wearing. Matron pulled a screen around them, and then she and Camille quickly got to work. Komui had used Camille's medical supplies to treat them, but now he removed the old bandages around the scientists' heads. He cleaned the injuries again, re-bandaged them carefully, then went to check on Lenalee. He changed the bandage on her head where she'd gotten a deep cut and then gently touched her ankle to make sure the bandage was still tightly wrapped. It was, and he'd set it on the train. He'd been worried it would re-break when Miranda de-activated Time Record, but as he gently fingered Lenalee's ankle, to his relief he discovered that although it was still broken, it was set exactly like he'd left it on the train. The swelling was starting to go down but he could see purple and blue bruising extending from under the bandage and he winced in sympathy. Komui left momentarily then returned with a medium sized bag of ice. He lifted his sister's leg gently and stretched it out across the bed, then put the ice pack on it.

"How is your ankle, Lenalee? Does it hurt?" Komui asked, looking up with a concerned, focused expression, and she smiled and shook her head.

"It doesn't hurt as much since I'm not walking, and the bandage and ice are helping a lot." Komui sighed and stood up, then ruffled Lenalee's hair affectionately, but she frowned at him.

"I'm not a kid anymore," she said indignantly, but felt her mouth stretch into a smile.

"You'll still always be my baby sister," Komui said. Johnny and Reever exchanged amused glances.

"Awww," they chimed in unison and Komui cast them a menacing look and they slid off of the beds they were sitting on.

"Well," Reever said, lifting an arm to wave, "we're feeling better, so I think we can leave."

"We'd better turn in, anyway," Johnny said, smiling slightly. "Take care of yourself, Lenalee." Matron had given them the all-clear to leave.

"Thank you; I will," she said back with a friendly wave.

"And Kimura, too," Johnny added, casting a worried glance toward the privacy screens.

"She's fine," Matron called, having overhead even though Johnny had been attempting to whisper, "her injuries are serious but if she gets enough rest I think she'll pull through. In a couple weeks or so she'll be completely back to normal." Johnny and Reever smiled at Matron, then seemed to remember something, and in unison they gave Komui a sharp look.

"What?" He asked innocently, but Reever and Johnny knew better than to trust his hurt expression.

"Don't make any Komurins!" Johnny exclaimed. "We've just gotten here and started to settle in."

"Everyone's worked hard so far so try and control yourself," Reever scolded fiercely before leaving with Johnny. Lenalee held a hand to her mouth and giggled, but after she had waved goodbye and watched the two researchers leave, she seemed to think of something.

"Shiori will need a new uniform and new clothes. And, well…new underwear, too. I guess since it's easier to get to towns we can go looking for clothes for her." Komui nodded.

"Leave the uniform to me," he said. "She can wear an extra one we have now but later on I'll ask her what style of uniform she wants. I doubt she'll be comfortable with any clothes for a while, though, judging on how she's lived these past few years." Lenalee hugged her brother goodbye and Komui left the room. Miranda looked back into the room briefly and then followed Komui out of the Infirmary. Sighing tiredly and stretching, Lenalee curled up under the covers of the Infirmary bed she was in and closed her eyes, and soon felt her body becoming heavier as gradually she fell into a deep sleep.

* * *

_Ow. Hurts. Ow. A lot._

_That's good. Well, not good….but it means you're not dead. What do you remember happening last?_

_An Akuma almost killing Lenalee and me._

_But you both defeated it. Remember that much now?_

Shiori looked towards where the voice came from but just saw a somewhat short human figure. She was unable to make out who it was because the figure was shadowed, like a bright light was shining from behind it and the place Shiori was in was dark. Looking down Shiori discovered two furry paws of a wolf instead of a human's feet; looked back over her shoulders, she saw more fur and a long bushy tail. _Didn't I turn back into a person? Why am I still like this?_

_You've been in wolf form for a long time, so now it's how you see yourself,_ the figure commented.

_Really? _Shiori thought, tilting her head and feeling a spark of interest. She'd never thought of it like that. Her human form had changed over the years, so Shiori didn't really know how to see her present self. The last image she had of herself was how she looked at fourteen, but after a while Shiori began to just picture herself as a wolf. It was too strange to think of her human form and since the exorcist's physical body had probably changed over the two years, who knew what she looked like. She could barely remember how she looked as a fourteen-year-old now.

_With time you'll probably start to picture yourself as human again._

_Who are you?_ Shiori asked, finally getting around to the question. She'd been trying to guess who was talking to her, but her head was foggy, and she couldn't come up with an answer. _You seem like you know me. _A light laugh filtered to her ears.

_Of course I know you. We've been together for a long time. _Shiori gave a long, tired sigh and felt herself curl up into a ball.

_I'm tired. I can't think now, whoever you are._ Hands pressed against the sides of her muzzle and gently lifted Shiori's head. Wearily, the exorcist lifted her eyes open halfway.

_Don't go back to sleep now._

_Too late._

_Hey! There are fleas and they'll get you unless you get up and get away!_

_AAAAARGGGGHH! _Shiori jolted up in bed, eyes wide and her hands brushing frantically across her arms and legs. She stopped suddenly when she realized there were no fleas on her. She groaned, her body aching from her healing injuries, then growled, "Kisho, you little twerp. Wait a second…." The exorcist blinked at her surroundings. She was in a hospital-like setting and in a flash, she remembered what had happened, and recalled that she was at the new Black Order's headquarters. Wondering when she had fallen asleep, the exorcist glanced around, but there were no windows—that she could see—that let light in so she didn't know what time it was now. Yawning, Shiori glanced at her lap, where her hands were resting, but couldn't see her skin because of the white sleeves that were covering her arms. They just reached her wrists, but Shiori folded them back once. Then she pushed the covers down and saw that black dress pants were covering her legs. Pinching a section of the material that was over her left knee, Shiori pulled it briefly, then let go. The fabric snapped quickly back to its original position. Whatever kind of fabric this outfit was made out of, it was sturdy and flexible, but still comfortable. She liked her new outfit; the shirt and pants breathed well and felt just the right size. Shiori made a mental note to thank whoever had given her the clothes to wear—it had probably been Komui….but hoped that someone else had actually put them on her.

Shiori became aware of a quiet, but odd sound in the room. She leaned back against her pillows and glanced around the room. Most of the exorcists had been discharged from the Infirmary, but a few remained and were currently sleeping. They didn't seem to have woken up from her angry exclamation earlier. A few snored and some breathed lightly, but they didn't sound like what Shiori had just heard. Then she noticed someone sitting up a few beds away, and the person's head was buried in his arms, which would shake slightly at intervals as if he was crying. Shiori pushed the covers away and stiffly put her legs over the side of the bed and stood up, wincing as her healing injuries burned, but she began walking around the other beds and soon was standing at the person's bedside.

"Hey," she said gently, putting her hand on the edge of his bed to steady herself, "Should I call Matron to come and check on you?" The person shook his head and didn't look at her. "What's the matter, then?" Shiori asked quietly, being careful to not sound too commanding, for whatever was bothering him seemed to be something important.

"The….the exorcist I was…on a mission with….was killed…" Finally lifting his head, Shiori saw that the person had a bandage around the whole left side of his face. The female exorcist also noticed that there were casts and a sling around both of his arms, and a thick wrapping of bandages holding a large white patch was over the right side of his head, hiding half of his face from view. He was bald, so she had no clue what color his hair was. It seemed that his hair had been shaved so the area could be operated on and bandaged. The person gave her a harsh look and covered his face with his arms again. Lowering her head and giving a quiet sigh, the female exorcist sat on the edge of his bed.

"You're a Finder, right?" She asked softly, and the person raised his head slightly and nodded once. "Whatever happened, I doubt it was your fault."

"Are you _serious_?" He hissed. "Finders are supposed to die protecting exorcists—not the other way around. Even if I didn't want to die, I knew what my responsibility was. I don't know why he did it—I just don't know why." Hesitating momentarily, Shiori took a deep breath. Kisho didn't have his Innocence anymore, so he was more like a Finder than an exorcist. What else was left for him to become in order to stay here? He didn't have much aptitude for being a scientist or researcher, even if he was smart, and liked reading and studying some things…

If Kisho did become a Finder, he was just as likely or more likely to die now if he was in the field with Akuma. But she pushed aside the thought for now and hoped it would be okay to ask this Finder questions.

"What….I mean….how did it happen?" The Finder looked away as if ashamed, but his tone gave Shiori the impression he'd been wanting to talk.

"….Well….the exorcist I was with was fighting some Level Three Akuma, and there was a Level Four that I was trying to keep trapped while he finished them off. But it was too strong to be trapped for long and it broke free. The next thing I knew I was on the ground, I couldn't feel the right side of my face, and my arms felt like they were broken. My whole body hurt so much that I couldn't move." The young man looked at himself. "My arms are broken, one was a closed fracture, but the other was open. Matron fixed it and it's not infected, but I might not be able to use it as well as my left….and I won't use my eye again." Shiori closed her eyes, failing to suppress a shudder, but kept listening as the person continued with his account.

"Then I saw that Terence was fighting the Level Four. He was hurt, and badly, from what I could see. But even though he was hurt and the Level Four attacked him, he managed to kill it…" the Finder looked away, "but Terence died. I stayed conscious long enough for him to give me his Anti-Akuma Weapon—it was Equip—and then he was gone. I wanted to treat his injuries—I didn't believe he was gone—but I tried moving and the pain was so bad that I must have passed out. I don't remember anything except waking up here but I knew I'd kept his Anti-Akuma Weapon." He paused, and Shiori didn't say anything, just waited for him to start talking again. "Komui came and told me later that he'd given the Innocence back to Hevlaska." The teenager gave a miserable sigh. "I didn't know if I was going to die, but he said he wanted me to hold on until someone came to help me." His fists clenched. "'Me', not 'us'."

"I'm….really sorry," Shiori murmured, not sure what else she could say. Terence was already dead, so what good would any of her words do? And Shiori knew that every time she tried to make someone feel better, she just made things worse. It was probably because she had an automatic tendency to be blunt instead of comforting, and thus any attempt to make people feel better usually failed. But what she'd said seemed to calm the Finder down marginally, for he sat up slowly and leaned back against the headboard.

"I woke up here and when I asked where he was….even though I remembered what he said, I still asked….and Matron just looked away and didn't answer, so I knew. But it's, well…the worst part was….he had a family, somewhere. His wife died, but he still had a son, even though he lost him."

"'Lost him'?" Shiori echoed, and received a shrug.

"I didn't ask much. Even if we were friends, I didn't feel like prying. Terence just said that he had a son but he didn't know where he was. I don't know if he got kidnapped, or they just got separated or something, but it seemed like he wanted to go find him. When we were going to Germany, where our last mission was, I saw him looking at a picture of someone. I got a glimpse of it and there were three people in it—him, a woman and a baby. But I didn't find the picture after that. But even if I had it, it wouldn't really do any good."

"I guess not…." Shiori concurred, feeling a pang of anguish, even though she had never known any of the people this Finder was talking about. That didn't matter, really; she knew how losing someone felt….hell, everyone at the Order probably did, whether it was the Earl's fault or not.

"But maybe I could, sometime. I know his family name, and his kid's name….but he wouldn't look the same now…" The Finder murmured, seemingly to no one in particular; Shiori felt a pulse of worry and tried to strike up a conversation again.

"What's….uh….what's your name?"

"Celio. Celio Ruiz." He looked at Shiori with a curious and wary expression. "What's yours?"

"Shiori Kimura," she replied, giving her first name first, since the Finder had Celio nodded once, then looked away. "And…." She really wasn't any good at consolation, "….don't blame yourself for what happened to him." Shiori felt her heart squeeze with dismay when Celio turned his light brown eyes, narrowed in hostility, at her but she kept going. "I mean….not that it makes things any better…but if he was here now and you were dead, he'd probably have wanted to have died instead of you." Celio stared at her, suddenly not angry. "He'd be thinking there was something he could have done to save you. So…it's hard to think about…but since you're here right now, he did what he wanted and saved you."

"Exorcists take more priority to protect, and it's a Finder's job to protect them," Celio said fiercely, and Shiori could tell he wasn't just reciting the party line; there was a strange light in his visible eye that let her know how much he meant what he said. She began to take deep breaths in and out, but Celio didn't notice. "We were friends from a long time ago. Even though we'd been going on mission for six years, and helped each other out, I still knew that if I had a choice of saving myself or him…I had to—and would—choose him," Celio said, then closed his eyes and shook his head.

_What if Emile did that? Or Toma or Camille? Or….Kisho…._

"I wish I could've saved him….because he saved me, he died. I guess he was thinking the same thing I was, though. Conflicting interests. But if he hadn't died, he could have gone off to go see his wife again—well…her grave—and maybe find his kid…"

"Celio," a voice said firmly, making Shiori and the Finder jump, and they saw that Matron had come in and was walking towards them. "I've told you this before, Celio, but you're still moping. I'll say it once more and hope you believe me this time: Terence's death wasn't your fault. He'd been injured badly by the Level Three, according to your account, and he pushed himself too hard when he fought the Level Four. It was so you'd be able to live, but it wasn't your fault that he died. And you kept his Innocence safe. If an exorcist is beyond help, you retrieve their Innocence." Shiori nodded hesitantly when Celio just sat with an incensed expression and didn't respond.

"Things just….happen sometimes," she said solemnly, "and some of the time it's not anyone's fault….do you know what I mean?" Without warning Shiori's expression darkened. "But in that case…."

"The Earl…it's because of him that Akuma show up." The Finder closed his eyes and clenched his teeth and fists. "You know, sometimes I just want to go out and find him so I can make him suffer like he's made so many others suffer….but I'm not an exorcist. He'd wipe the floor with me."

"And even if you _were_," Matron said sternly, piercing Celio with a scolding glare, "you wouldn't end up accomplishing anything. And you'd just be needlessly endangering your life." Celio sighed and his fists unclenched slowly.

"You're the voice of reason, as always, Matron." The Finder lowered his head and held a hand to it. "You, Terence, and about a thousand others always told me I was too quick-tempered for my own good…" he muttered, and Matron stepped forward and held her arm out; Celio took the glass of water that she had been holding and drank it slowly.

"Get some sleep, Celio. You need to recover." Matron retrieved the water glass once Celio had finished.

"...Goodnight, Matron, and Kimura. Thanks….both of you," he said quietly with a forced smile before settling under the covers. Once he had dozed off Matron watched Shiori head back to her bed and took her arm as the exorcist stumbled dizzily.

"You should get some rest, as well. When you wake up I'll bring something for you to eat." Shiori nodded gratefully and slid into her bed, and began thinking about everything Celio had said.

She knew where her brother's path was heading, and even though she was trying not to, Shiori felt deep down that it would lead Kisho to becoming a Finder. The siblings hadn't exactly chosen the safest job out there, but still….for the first time Shiori wished that Kisho had never come to The Black Order. Knowing that if he hadn't he'd probably be dead just made her feel worse for wanting him to have stayed away. Shiori pulled the covers over her head and curled up in a ball. Despite her troubled thoughts, after a while of tossing and turning, she became exhausted from worrying and dropped off to sleep.


	36. Home

Author's Note: Hello! This is the chapter where Shiori complains a lot.

**Shiori: You make me complain.**

**Me: Uh-huh, blame your faults on others. That's mature.**

**Shiori: Humph.**

**Me: So, I was intending to check this chapter over more, but I felt like if I did I'd never get around to uploading it because I'm a horrible procrastinator sometimes. So here we go! Enjoy!**

**Me: Disclaimer…..I own my two OC's but not anyone else. I own the parts of the plot where I made things up, but that's all. Everything else is property of Katsura Hoshino…and her editors…and such…well, on with the story.**  
**Those who have reviewed so far, thank you very, very much. I love that you review I've gotten into a routine of thinking about this story, its plot, and characters, and what I'll write next, but reviews do help me and make me feel even more pleased about having started writing the story. I'm glad that I am still happily writing it two years later (it feels like a good kind of strange when I remember that I started this story in 2008). Cheers~**

* * *

**Chapter Thirty-Three – Home**

With a satisfied sigh, Shiori sank into the chair at her desk and stared out the window. She'd just finished getting all of the furniture, her desk, chair, and bed, situated in her new room and Kisho's room was done now too. It was one room over from hers and she'd put all of his belongings and furniture in his room so whenever he got back it'd be ready for him. It had been a week since all of the exorcists had reached the new Order, and most of them were settled into their new rooms but lots of them were helping to clean the place up and make it look a little nicer since it had been a decrepit old castle. Shiori was healing and Matron had allowed her to leave the Infirmary on the promise that she'd take it easy. She couldn't move around too quickly and when she tried, she doubled over in pain. The spare exorcist uniform she was wearing wasn't helping her heal much quicker. Even though she still wore bandages, her clothes rubbed on the bandages, which made small areas of them sore, so she had developed a habit of walking stiffly so the clothes didn't brush against her skin too much. Lavi and Chaoji had spotted her struggling and had offered to help (though Chaoji and Lavi had handled most of the really heavy stuff, like putting together the bed frames in Shiori and Kisho's rooms).

While Lavi and Chaoji had put the desk in the room, then the bed frame together, Shiori had brought the box with her things in her room (it was not very heavy but she'd had just pushed it with her foot across the floor) so she'd been able to do that on her own with little problem and had put the box with Kisho's clothes in his room and come back to find her room looking more like her old one. She scratched furiously at her neck, where the collar of her shirt was scratching her, and grumbled crossly. "These clothes are nice, and I still like my collar, but they really itch."

"Like a son of a bitch?" Lavi asked.

"Yes!" Shiori agreed emphatically. "I never thought I'd hate wearing clothes this much. It used to be fun…putting on festival clothes, work clothes, and pajamas…" Lavi snorted.

"If you go around naked, we won't mind," he said. Chaoji glared sideways at him.

"Don't put words in my mouth," the man snapped, crossing his arms.

"I was just kidding…." He looked down and muttered under his breath. "Sort of." Lifting his head again he gave a cheerful grin. "Anyway, Shady, are you sure you didn't catch fleas again?" Lavi teased, having figured out (along with everyone else) a long time ago that she'd been beset by parasites during her years as a wolf and now had a penetrating phobia of them.

"No, I do not have fleas," she objected sourly, slumping in the chair. Then her expression changed; she gave Chaoji and Lavi a friendly look. "Thanks for helping me," she said, sitting up straight. "I really needed the help." Lavi shook his head.

"No problem. We usually charge by the hour, though," he said, trying to hide a grin.

Shiori raised her eyebrows. "But you weren't working for a whole hour. You guys finished everything in no time," she said, playing along with a smile.

"Well, we round up…a lot," Lavi said, holding his hand out while Chaoji sighed quietly. Shiori reached a hand in her pocket and nodded.

"Alright, here you go," she agreed, standing and dropping something in Lavi's hand. He took one look at it and gave a startled yell while reflexively jerking his hand away. Chaoji blinked and watched a large black spider scuttling across the floor. Lavi gave Shiori an incredulous, aggravated look.

"You just carry spiders around in your pocket?"

"His name's Frank. Or Fred," Shiori said casually, ignoring the question, but a satisfied smirk was on her face. "And he doesn't like to be tossed around."

Lavi glared at the spider and lifted his foot. "I can think of something else he won't like." Shiori quickly bent and picked the little black creature up before Lavi could step on him.

"Be nice to him or he'll be crawling on your pillow one of these days!" Shiori scolded, but Lavi just snorted and gave her a strange look, as did Chaoji.

"And then I'd just toss him out the window," Lavi said shortly. The female exorcist sighed and abruptly changed the subject.

"I haven't worn clothes in ages," she began complaining again. Lavi tried not to laugh. Shiori pulled at the sleeves of her clothes uncomfortably; her new exorcist uniform was a dark blue blouse under a medium-length black jacket with silver lines on the sleeves, and her black pants also had silver lines, starting at her waist and ending at her ankles. The old brown collar she'd worn during the trip from the old Branch to the new one had been discarded. She was wearing her old black and silver collar from received when she'd first arrived at the Main Branch, the one that had her name on a cross-shaped tag. She had previously tightened it somewhat so that it didn't hang loosely around her neck but now was loosening it so it wouldn't get hot and make a ring of sweat form all the time. "I never knew they itched so much."

"You didn't seem nearly this odd when you were a wolf. You were still odd, don't get me wrong, though," Lavi noted, and Shiori thought for a moment.

"Think of this payback for all the times you played the rice-flea trick on me," she said, then lifted her hand at smiled at the spider dangling from her hand by a thread.

"Payback?" Lavi laughed. "Really? Was that the best you could do?" Shiori looked up slowly and a shadow came over her face.

"The best I could do?" She laughed sinisterly, then held her hand close to a slightly dented brass flowerpot, filled with dark soil, on her windowsill. She'd found the old flowerpot in a pile of other curios outside of an antique shop while on a mission from a while back and upon hearing that it was about to be gotten rid of Shiori had asked if she could have it. The antique shop owner had said no, but once he'd gone back inside, Shiori had surreptitiously picked up the flowerpot. Then as if nothing happened she'd walked away from the shop with it. Miranda had nervously insisted that it was stealing and Allen had commented that Kisho must have learned to be a thief from Shiori, who had retorted she didn't need to hear that from a gambler. She was now looking for something to plant in it, since that was something she liked to do. Back home she and the other families planted lots of things since they were a farming community.

"You don't want to know the best I can do," the female exorcist said in a menacing tone, while Frank (or Fred) the spider crawled over her hand, then her fingers, then finally came to a stop near the flowerpot's rim.

"You saying that just makes me want to know," Lavi said, rolling his eyes, while Chaoji grinned faintly and Shiori laughed.

* * *

"So…this is the new country of the Main Branch," Kisho observed, staring out the window at the pine-tree landscape that was swiftly rushing by.

"It looks like we're getting into a more isolated part of the country…that's why Komui picked it. He picked the previous Black Order's location for the same reason. Even if people rely on us to get rid of Akuma…it's best that we're apart from them most of the time…" Allen trailed off.

Allen and Kisho had been discharged the previous day, a week and a few days after they'd arrived at the China Branch. Having recovered enough they were given the all-clear to take a train and start heading home; it was the eighteenth of August, a Monday, and they'd arrived at the Asia Branch on Saturday the ninth of August. They had been travelling for a long time now, but had mostly slept along the way so they didn't know how long they'd been travelling. Kisho was feeling better about getting back in time for Shiori's birthday on the twenty-second but unease about telling her how their mother had died, and because of who, was making him a nervous wreck. He almost got on the wrong train at the station and Allen had found him at the last minute, and they'd had to run to avoid missing the train they were riding now. Then Kisho had tried to drink out of the cup of water that had his goldfish in it (he'd wound up keeping the fish the cook had given him) before stopping himself just in time.

But later Kisho had tried to walk into their compartment, not realizing the door was closed. Allen frequently had to yell to get Kisho's attention when the younger person didn't respond to conversation attempts. The older male had become frustrated, firmly telling Kisho that he couldn't keep having lapses in attention. Allen knew that Kisho was just worried but he sharply told the Finder to stop being a victim and not just think the troubles were all his. Countless people had dealt with-and were dealing with—the loss of their family members because of the Earl. There had been silence for a while after that. Allen was calmer now after angrily reprimanding Kisho, but now remembered that the other male had just stared at him with emotionless eyes, making him wonder if he'd even been listening. But Kisho had not visibly gotten angry, nor had he left the compartment. The younger person was staring out the window now and Allen noticed the blank expression had been replaced by a troubled one, letting him know he had been listening.

The landscape was rushing by—green pine trees, far-off mountains, a lake that was stretching out across the horizon—and Kisho kept staring out the window at it even if he felt a little dizzy watching everything. When upset, he began thinking hard about something else while he sorted out his feelings, so he often went into his own little world….one that had several soundproof barriers around it.

Although Kisho and Allen wanted to see all their friends again and get back into a normal routine they would miss everyone at the Asia Branch, but the plus side was that they were a lot closer to China now and might be able to visit each other more frequently in the future. There was also a chance they might end up doing joint missions. In the week and a half that the exorcist and demoted exorcist were at the Asia Branch, Kisho had overcome some of his clumsiness at writing with his unbroken left hand and soon, Kisho guessed, he might be able to write with his left and right hands. Allen's injuries had started to heal and his ankle was on its way to being completely healed. The cut on his ankle was starting to form scar tissue and it didn't hurt so much anymore. There was still padding on his ankle for the sprain, but Allen had a smaller bandage than before, and he sometimes just hopped around instead of using the crutches Bak had let him keep. The exorcist was even attempting to put his weight on the injured foot again and use it, but often it wouldn't be for very long periods of time before he had to switch weight back to his right foot and either use the crutches or hopping on one foot (which he could do with no problem but tried to avoid since he knew he looked odd). Kisho had remained in the library for most of his remaining time at the Asia Branch being forced to study Chinese with Bak, Fo, Lo Hua, Likei, and Shifu since he had proven that his language skills in the language had gotten rusty. Allen had also been dragged into the language sessions and since he'd never taken Chinese before he often left the lessons a jumbled mess of thoughts and lots of assignments. Kisho and Allen usually met up hastily after the lessons and tried to get their homework load finished together. It seemed that Bak hadn't just given them Chinese language lessons on a whim; he appeared to have a genuine reason for it, maybe because they'd be closer to China now and knowing the language would come in handy.

When Allen and Kisho finished working they'd study the book that had the strange symbol in it. The whole book was in the same language as the symbol, and they didn't know how to read it. They attempted to ask people in the Asia Branch, exorcists and Finders, but they seemed especially busy training and Bak, Likei, Shifu, Lo Hua, and Fo were also busy so they couldn't be approached either. Most of their days were spent working around the Branch and teaching the exorcist and new Finder Chinese on the side. Lots of Finders and a handful of exorcists had learned multiple languages with all the travelling they'd done. Kisho had learned most of his English from Cloud Nyne after becoming her apprentice. Kisho hadn't been all that optimistic about learning English, but Cloud Nyne had proved to be an experienced teacher. He picked up the most basic English in a few months from her and had learned even more at the Asia and Main Branches. Tiedoll had apparently taught Shiori English, too, and like Kisho she'd picked it up at the Main Branch. When the siblings made mistakes when speaking it, other exorcists would point them out.

Neither Kisho nor Allen got much out of the book no matter how long they stared at its pages, and they hadn't found an English or Japanese version of the book. By this time however they had memorized the symbol, and both had it on a piece of paper in their pockets so they could ask Reever about it when they returned because he was good with a lot of languages and they were counting on him to know what the symbol might mean. The symbol Allen had drawn on his paper was slightly different than the one in the book; it was a dot over a closed eye shape, which was over a three shape. The shape missing from his symbol was a curving line coming out from the three, the same symbol on Kisho's paper slip.

Kisho didn't know why Allen wanted to know about the symbol and as of yet hadn't asked; he was too busy with Chinese, and learning about how to be a Finder, and had become focused with thinking about what the symbol meant—too focused to think about asking Allen— so he kept forgetting to bring it up but this was just fine with Allen. If Kanda found out what either of them was doing, well, the results wouldn't be pretty. "How did you get along the first time you came here?" Allen asked on a random thought, and Kisho turned his head away from the train window to look at the exorcist.

"Mm…" Kisho mumbled, thinking for a moment. "It was easier for me to leave home because there wasn't anything or anyone left at that point. And But Shiori was a people person and pretty much knew everyone in the town." He looked at Allen suddenly, an expression of be concern on his face, and the exorcist looked taken aback. "Was she homesick for a while?" He asked. "Or did she stop eating?" Allen scratched his head.

"If she was homesick she didn't show it. But," he said, "I know there was no problem with her appetite. Was she always a heavy eater?" Kisho's forehead puckered in thought.

"Not really. I know she travelled a lot and probably had to just eat whatever she could get—which probably wasn't a lot—and Parasite-type Accommodators need a lot of energy, right?" Allen nodded. Innocence, in Parasite form, took a lot of energy from the Accommodator's body—energy to function and live. "She looks a little skinny now that I think about it. She really must not have been getting enough to eat."

"Maybe that's why her appetite increased so much—she was used to not eating a lot but she needed food and couldn't get it." The exorcist recalled something suddenly. "Actually, I think she didn't eat a lot right after she came. I heard that she did eat a whole bunch at first, but that it made her sick or something, so she didn't eat at all for a few days after that. She eats a little more now." Kisho sighed deeply and leaned against the window.

"Poor Shiori…but she's alright now, so I guess I shouldn't….she'd hit me over the head if she knew I was worrying about her." There was a pause. "She might anyway once I get back."

"I think Lenalee will do the same thing to me…she worries a lot about everyone." Allen slumped his shoulders. "I don't think Komui will be very happy with me either," the exorcist said, wincing slightly as he thought of Komui having a huge tantrum towards him because he made Lenalee upset. Heaven forbid he'd had time to make another Komurin to terrorize him with.

"You're right…we'll have a lot to answer to…from certain others. I'd take being yelled at by my friends any day…rather than them…" Kisho grumbled, looking out the window again.

"You mean," Allen said, his eyes narrowed, "people like Revelier or from the Vatican?"

"Pretty much," Kisho answered without taking his eyes away from the window. "Most people in The Black Order are pretty decent, though, but….well, anyway…." Kisho broke off. "Looks like it'll get pretty cold here in the winter, like where I lived. Shiori and I lived in northern Japan." The teenager shuddered. "We both really hated winter and most of spring. It was always hard, in winter especially, to stay warm." Allen patted Timcampy, who for once was sitting quietly in his lap, instead of on his head eating his hair.

"Maybe Komui and everyone else are working on making baths like in the old headquarters." Kisho looked towards Allen and his expression brightened.

"Maybe there are hot springs so no one will freeze. That's what we did back at home sometimes." Allen looked at Kisho doubtfully.

"You froze to death?" He asked, and Kisho shook his head slowly. Then he understood the ambiguity of his sentence.

"I meant people in the town got in the hot springs that were nearby to keep warm in the winter. Hot spring monkeys do that too." Kisho rubbed his head, looking embarrassed. "I still am pretty bad at English, but Cloud Nyne taught me, and she's good at it. If she wasn't an exorcist, maybe she'd be a teacher." Allen was about to say something back when the train began slowing to a stop. Kisho looked up in surprise. "We're there?" He asked, standing up, and he stumbled forward when the train came to a final sudden halt.

"Must be," Allen said with a look of eagerness as he stood and reached for the compartment door. It slid open and Hyun-Ae stood there. Bak had given her the task of escorting them to the new Main Branch and protecting them while they travelled the last leg of the journey to their final destination. She'd stay for a while at the Main Branch and had permission from Bak and Komui to go on missions there.

"Good! You're ready. Let's get going, then!" She urged the two boys, throwing them canteens of water and a sliced bread bun with dried fish between the halves. "This is for the trip. I bet you guys are a little hungry and you'll need all the energy you can get to make it back." She turned, leaving Allen and Kisho to follow her out of the train and onto the platform where they stood for a moment to get their bearings. Hyun-Ae had a map out and was standing between Allen and Kisho while they all peered at it together. She lifted a finger and pressed it lightly down onto a spot on the map. "This is the train station we're at now, and the Main Branch is about three miles from here. It should take around an hour to get there."

"So it's really close. What if someone finds it?" Kisho asked, frowning slightly. "I know it's just a small town and train station here, but—" Hyun-Ae shushed him and began speaking in a whisper; Allen and Kisho had to lean closer to hear her.

"It's well hidden. Everyone had to go through a thick forest to get there and it's surrounded by trees and mountains on all sides. It is in a clearing just big enough for the castle and there's an empty space behind the castle for a ways before the mountains start. No one would try going through the forest to see if anything's there. I and several others have actually made sure of that. By the time we're done, everyone around here will have spread the rumor that the forest is cursed. They already think that the old castle is haunted and the leader of this town was happy to give the land away. He knows it's being used for something but Komui was careful to make sure that the town leader wouldn't talk about it—and he seemed happy to agree." Hyun-Ae folded the map and slipped it into her backpack. "The castle's kind of a stain on this town. It's a nice place to be, out in the country and all, but when the rumors of a haunted castle started popping up no one wanted to come here anymore. But apparently people—mainly younger people—got interested in exploring, so they started coming back and the town actually grew a little. Everyone is curious about the woods and the castle but no one to my knowledge has gone there since we started spreading the rumors. If they do, though, we have a lot of plans to make them leave. We won't do anything really bad to anyone who explores around here so don't worry."

Kisho and Allen grinned; they wouldn't mind being part of the prank group when they needed to scare curious people away. "People I knew would avoid cursed spots like the plague. Well, except when they left offerings. If there was a 'cursed' spot or a haunted place they'd leave offerings so the spirits would find peace and go away." Hyun-Ae nodded.

"Yeah, I know what you mean," she said. Allen looked off towards where they'd leave the town and start walking. "Right, well, I can see that you want to get going. If you two ever need to take a rest along the way, be sure to say something. I'll be paying attention to you but I also have to pay attention to the trail." The two young men nodded and then the trio started off for the new Main Branch. On an impulse Kisho glanced around at the town and train station. Their train had left and people were crowding the platform, waiting for the next one. There were a lot of trees and flowers inside and outside the town's borders, and a few people were planting and watering flowers carefully. It was hot out but a nice cool breeze was wafting gently through the town. Something brushed Kisho's shoulder, lightly at first, so he didn't pay attention but it came again and was rougher this time. Turning, Kisho wondered if someone was trying to get his attention, but when he recognized who was standing before him his heart throbbed in panic and began beating faster.

"You're not safe there," Tykki said calmly, "no matter how hard you'll try to keep it protected. We can always find you. There are still traces of that Golem inside you." Kisho curled his hand into a fist and swiped at Tykki, but his fist just went right through him. It seemed that the Tykki in front of him was somehow just an illusion.

"It was destroyed."

"Innocence and Dark Matter usually destroy each other. But sometimes they just repel each other, like opposite ends of a magnet when they touch. For the Golem to completely be destroyed you'd have to have received all of the Heart fragment's power, but you just received a tiny amount so Allen could still get rid of the Fourteenth's memories." The Noah gave a short laugh while Kisho clutched his chest and clenched his jaw; sweat was beading on his face and it made him feel chilled even though the weather was hot. "Do you regret what you did?" Tykki asked softly after a small chuckle. Kisho's expression hardened.

"No." The Noah shrugged.

"Well, the Tease won't kill you as long as you still have part of the Heart's power to slowly get rid of it. Once it's gone, I suppose the Innocence will fill the hole it chewed in your heart. But it doesn't matter that it didn't kill you." Even though Tykki didn't look like he was really there the Noah jabbed a finger into Kisho's chest, right over his heart. "Because we will." There was no threat, no malice, no frustration in Tykki's voice. The Noah had sounded strangely calm when he'd spoken, and his expression detached, as if he had merely stated a fact. Another chill went up Kisho's spine.

"Kisho," Allen said right into his ear, startling Kisho. He jumped away from Allen, still feeling cold. He breathed heavily for a moment, holding his chest, and glanced around in a daze. Hyun-Ae and Allen, as well as a few townspeople, were giving him worried and peculiar glances. The townspeople quickly walked away when they saw Kisho was looking back at them.

"Did you see him? Tykki? He was here." Allen and Hyun-Ae immediately looked around and took off to search for the Noah, but they came back and told Kisho they hadn't found him. Kisho was sitting on a rock near the forest edge and rubbing his chest when they came back.

"Is the heat getting to you, maybe?" Hyun-Ae asked, looking puzzled and wary. "We didn't see him anywhere and if he was here he probably would have started something by now."

"The Earl probably wants all three of us now," Allen agreed, "so he wouldn't just let us get away. But we didn't see him." After a paused Allen asked Kisho, "Do you want to rest here for a bit? Or eat something?" Kisho shook his head and stood up.

"No….let's go. I'll just explain what happened along the way. I made us waste too much time already," he replied, looking troubled, and the two exorcists listened intently as the young teenager told them what he'd seen.

"I don't know what to think….I don't feel like there's anything wrong with me, but everyone just moved to a new place. I can't be the reason they have to keep moving to new locations if the Noah really can find us. Maybe I should leave you guys alone, or something….." Hyun-Ae startled Kisho by snapping suddenly at him.

"There's always been the danger that Noah could find us. Just why were you listening to him, anyway? He's a Noah, plus," Hyun-Ae continued before Kisho could get a word in, "were you sure he was even there? You've been through a lot, you're injured, and it's hot out today." Kisho swallowed.

"So you…think I could have just imagined it."

"I'm pretty sure you just imagined it," Hyun-Ae said derisively, crossing her arms. "Wouldn't be the first time you imagined something, anyway." Kisho stiffened and looked at the ground passing beneath his feet as he walked. Some who knew about his visions about the Heart believed him—mostly his friends—and some didn't; Hyun-Ae was one of those people who thought he'd imagined or made it up, and that he had just happened to find a piece of the Heart. Though some didn't even believe that a Heart fragment had been found, because according to what the Black Order Branches knew so far, the Heart was just one Innocence which if destroyed would cause the destruction of every Innocence throughout the world. "We'll get you checked out back at Headquarters to make sure you're alright, though," Hyun-Ae continued offhandedly, breaking into Kisho's thoughts. "Both of you are going to get checked out anyway." Allen and Kisho groaned quietly. Bak had already given them a medical exam at the Asia Branch; why did they need another one? "And I'll make sure Komui doesn't do anything weird to you guys."

"Thanks a lot," Allen grumbled, an uncomfortable chill going up his spine as he thought about Komui's operations.

"Don't worry about it," Hyun-Ae said with a reassuring smile. "It's not like your Innocence was damaged, so he won't be operating on your arm. He'll just do a routine check-up to make sure you're healing correctly. Well, honestly, Kisho's will be a little more….intense…because of what he just told us. Not that I believe that Tykki was there," she added when Kisho quickly looked up, "but I was a little concerned about you anyway. Hevlaska might be called to look at you." With a sigh Kisho looked ahead and looked down again, paying attention to his walking feet until he felt a tap on his shoulder.

"Don't do that. You have to learn to pay just as much attention to your surroundings now that you're a Finder." Kisho had swapped out his tattered exorcist uniform at the Asia Branch, first for a red buttoned Chinese shirt and black pants and second for a dusty brown Finder's cloak that Hyun-Ae was carrying in her backpack. He was wearing the short-sleeved red shirt and black pants now and Allen was wearing black pants and a white buttoned shirt with a dark blue tie. Hyun-Ae had a new exorcist uniform for him in her backpack and was wearing a white dress shirt with a black skirt that went just past her calves. "Got it?" The Korean exorcist chided Kisho gently, and he held her gaze for a second before looking straight ahead of him.

"Yeah," he answered, trying to rid himself of the hot, uneasy feeling in the pit of his stomach.

"Cheer up. We'll be there soon, and then we can do whatever we want…..at least until Komui gives us a mission," Allen said, touching Timcampy on the head lightly and laughing when the Golem snapped at his finger but missed. "Things will probably take some getting used to but I think this new place will be nice. It's easily accessible," the male exorcist commented thoughtfully, looking around at the landscape. "And the location isn't bad either. Lots of fresh air. The trees are really nice and green, too. I think sitting under one at the Main Branch will be nice…at least in the summer."

"In the winter it will be too cold….and most of the trees around here don't look like they change colors in the fall," Kisho said, almost forlornly, since he was thinking of his home as he walked. There didn't seem to be any Japanese maple or cherry trees around here….though there hadn't been in the previous Main Branch, either.

"Tree-lovers," Hyun-Ae laughed. "I understand farm boy's obsession for nature but I didn't know you liked trees so much, Allen."

"…Farm boy….?" Kisho repeated. "Is that bad or something?" Hyun-Ae looked at the sky.

"Oh, no, no, nothing wrong with that," she replied airily.

"I think she's saying you're a bumpkin," Allen said, whispering exaggeratedly, and the he received a confused look.

"Bumpkin?" Kisho looked from Allen to Hyun-Ae. He'd never heard that word before. It sounded like 'pumpkin'…but they couldn't be calling him fat, could they? Not that he would care if they were, since whatever they said wouldn't matter, because he wasn't fat. Kisho was shorter than Shiori, and much shorter than Allen, Kanda, and Lavi. He had a slightly average build, but he'd gotten some muscle from farming and exorcist training.

"A hick, a simpleton, a hayseed, a yokel, someone that comes from a backwater place in the middle of nowhere…" Hyun-Ae continued casually, then looked down at Kisho, who was looking up at her with a puzzled but annoyed look. "You need to expand your dictionary…and your horizons." Allen finally laughed, and Kisho finally understood and gave the exorcists a scornful glare that almost made them believe he was really angry.

"Right….I see." He began speaking derisively. "You both grew up in some nice, big city, didn't you?" Allen shrugged, unable to remember a place where he'd lived the most but Hyun-Ae just kept grinning. "I'd rather be a country guy than some city-wimp," Kisho laughed.

"Don't get your diapers in a bunch, shrimp!" Hyun-Ae exclaimed, covering her mouth with a hand, as if she was surprised by Kisho's jab but anyone could see that she was trying to stifle her laughter. "We didn't mean anything by it."

"I'm sure you didn't," Kisho said, then noticed that they were getting closer to a vast clump of trees. "Is that the forest you were talking about?" Hyun-Ae and Allen looked up, and the female exorcist nodded eagerly.

"Yes, that's it. We're halfway there now. Do you guys need a rest before you enter the cursed woods?" Hyun-Ae asked jokingly while giving the boys a sinister grin.

"If we stop," Allen said, "then it'll just take longer…and we can rest longer at the Main Branch than we can here." Kisho nodded in agreement but Hyun-Ae frowned and gazed left and right along the tree line as they reached the forest.

"There's a path towards the Main Branch in the trees somewhere. It leads straight to the front gate. Komui told me how to find it but I haven't actually seen it so I'm going to go look. I can contact him for directions." Hyun-Ae gazed off to her right, then turned her attention back to her two-person group. "I shouldn't be gone long, but you guys rest here while I'm gone. If anything happens contact me with Timcampy." A black Golem flew from Hyun-Ae's jacket pocket when she tapped it once. "Or run, if it's that bad."

"Alright. Be careful," Allen called as Hyun-Ae and the black Golem left; the female exorcist lifted a hand and waved it to show she'd heard. Sighing, Allen found a rock near the trees and sat on it with his left leg stretched out; with it sprained, it was more comfortable to sit that way. Kisho leaned against a tree and resisted the urge to close his eyes even though they were heavy with fatigue. "It's been too long," Allen said, startling Kisho back to attention. Rubbing his eyes the younger male yawned.

"Since we've been back home?" Kisho was already calling The Main Branch home, even though he still missed his own home, and even though a large expanse of debris marked where his family and neighbors had lived now. Everyone's bodies were probably also buried under the debris….no one would find them or know what happened. "Right…well, our new home."

"Yeah," Allen said, trying not to yawn in response to Kisho's. "It's the closest to a home I've ever had. I travelled a lot." It struck Allen as strange how long ago that had been—much longer than he'd been at The Black Order.

"You did?" Kisho asked, interested, then too late realized he might have been too intrusive in asking. Allen's eyes were narrowed slightly and his mouth was in a tight frown as if he was trying not to smile at something. His arms were also crossed and his fingers were tapping slightly. "Where did you go?" Allen's serious gaze locked with Kisho's, and he swallowed, but Allen lowered his arms to his sides and turned towards Kisho.

"Well, I think I went pretty much everywhere in Europe and Asia….England, France, Germany, Belgium, Italy, Egypt, Israel, Taiwan, Russia, China, Burma, Korea, Japan….and even some places in North America, I think….Canada….America…" The exorcist ticked off his fingers as he listed countries. "Those are all I can remember….I'm sure there were a lot more." Kisho stared, wide-eyed. He'd never been out of Japan, or even to China or Taiwan—places that were really close. Although he wouldn't have had much to offer as a travel fare, anyway. "My master, General Cross, took me lots of places. I learned lots of things while we travelled around…and some languages."

"Must have never been boring," Kisho remarked, impressed. Allen laughed a little and sighed heavily.

"Take it from me—running from the authorities is never boring…and it shouldn't be considered exciting. It's pretty terrifying." Kisho looked taken aback.

"What did your master do to get the police chasing you?" Again Allen began counting on his fingers.

"Gambling, stealing, starting fights, not paying bills, cheating, gambling, and leaving innocent kids with massive, never-ending debt…." Allen's hand trembled and clenched into a fist. Kisho laughed nervously, noticing that Timcampy's tail was clenched in Allen's palm and the Golem was flapping hard, trying to get free.

"That's fine, sorry I asked. And you might want to let Timcampy go. Just a thought." Allen blinked and unclenched his fist, letting the golden Golem fly free.

"Sorry, Timcampy. I didn't mean it." But Allen still had to dodge Timcampy's teeth and was still leaping around trying to avoid Golem when Hyun-Ae came running up suddenly.

"I found the path. If you're ready, let's get going." Allen came to a halt and Timcampy bumped into his shoulder, then bit, causing him to yelp and grab the Golem angrily. He glared at him before letting him go and walking towards Hyun-Ae with Kisho. "It's sort of overgrown but not too bad since everyone just went through it recently. You might get poison ivy, but hey, that can be taken care of at Headquarters too."

"Poison ivy?" Kisho asked dubiously as he and Allen hesitated at the gap in the trees that their guide was squeezing into.

"You sure are gullible," the female exorcist said, shaking her head, and Allen glanced down at Kisho; he was covering his face with his left hand, more in annoyance than humiliation, though his face was a little red. "Would I have brought you this way if there had been any?" _You might have, _Kisho thought sourly, looking up.

"Fine, I'll shut up," Hyun-Ae sighed. "Come on. We'll be there in no time." Gingerly, Allen and Kisho stepped into the mass of trees and kept up with their guide as best they could, the thought that the new Headquarters was waiting just beyond the forest.

_Finally, _the two thought, unaware their thoughts were the same. _Almost home._

**Shiori can change from wolf to human and vice versa whenever she wants now, but in addition to that, she randomly changes from wolf to human of her Innocence's own volition. So she can be in either form at any time.  
And Kisho will be the victim of many more short jokes. The short torch has passed from Allen to him xD But Kanda still calls Allen his nickname Moyashi ('Bean Sprout').  
And hope the swearing that shows up periodically doesn't bother anyone too much; sometimes I extensively plan dialogue and sometimes I don't. Usually, when I don't script plan or when people are being funny or are upset about something (Shiori: Huh, really?), there is swearing.**


	37. Welcome Home

**Hello! Now for the thing!...The disclaimer! I knew the word was in my dictionary somewhere.**

**I don't own D. Gray Man, its characters, the names, Timcampy, the food, the storyline….except the parts I made up I guess….but that was only with help from the real story….it helped me brainstorm.…so thanks Katsura Hoshino! And thanks to everyone who's still reading! :)**

**This chapter brought to you by Gatekeeper, who's firin' his lazar eyes!**

**Gatekeeper: Blaaaa!**

* * *

**Chapter Thirty-Four**

Hyun-Ae froze, Kisho jumped and Allen braced himself as a beam of light came from above and flooded over them. The three stood before the new Main Branch's gates and the ominous face of the Gatekeeper stared down at them. "I forgot about this guy," Hyun-Ae muttered.

"How was he even _brought_ here?" Kisho exclaimed, alarmed.

Hyun-Ae shrugged indifferently and smirked down at Kisho. "Don't ask." She gazed up again. "At the Asia Branch Fo checks everyone who comes out." She studied the perpetually aghast Gatekeeper's expression. "Fo's just as alarming, because she treats most every visitor like an intruder, and comes out swinging her weapons."

"Don't talk about me like I wasn't here!" The Gatekeeper shouted, then focused his eye beams on Allen. "You!" He hollered suddenly, but Allen didn't look the least bit intimidated.

"Yes?" He questioned haughtily, grinning unpleasantly when the Gatekeeper blinked a few times, looking distressed. Then he coughed and 'hmphed'.

"Allen Walker. I can still tell it's you even if your hair is so dirty it's turned brown."

"I see you aren't colorblind anymore. Good for you." Allen held up his hands and lifted his shoulders once. The Gatekeeper's eyes twitched. "And your hives cleared up nicely, didn't they?"

"So, you finally aren't cursed anymore, Walker," the door retorted. "Those hives finally went away. But even if you aren't cursed, don't even think about touching me again."

"Like I want to." Allen made a face. "And what's with this 'finally'?" He asked dismissively, waving a hand. "Your hives got better three days after I first got here—two _years_ ago—so exactly why are you still moaning about them?"

"Don't make me keep you out of here!" Allen cracked his knuckles and grinned sinisterly.

"I'd love to see you try." The Gatekeeper shuddered and coughed once, then turned his eye beams on Kisho and Hyun-Ae.

"You're good," he told the female exorcist, with a slight expression of unease, "and you…." The Gatekeeper hesitated. "There's something odd about you."

"Called that one," Hyun-Ae said, smiling. Allen rubbed his head and gave a small grin. Kisho gave them both an annoyed look.

"I'll have to do a closer inspection."

"What?" Kisho asked hoarsely as Allen and Hyun-Ae began inching away.

"Brace yourself!" Hyun-Ae yelled. Allen grabbed the cup with the goldfish from Kisho's hand, then moved hurriedly away from Kisho at the same instant Hyun-Ae did. Kisho looked at both of them with an alarmed expression, then looked up just in time to see the Gatekeeper's face stretch out from the door and stop inches from him. He went suddenly went rigid with shock. He'd been through the Door Exam once before but it wasn't something anyone got used to easily. The more experienced members of The Black Order were used to the Gatekeeper and would only a few would stop to chitchat with him (Miranda and Krory, for example). Kisho leaned back and when the giant face leaned closer he stumbled backward and fell down as the beams of light kept sweeping over him. Finally the beams focused on his chest right over his heart.

"You're infected with one of those Golems….a Tease. But it's being blocked by…." He hesitated. "By Innocence? I almost couldn't detect it." Withdrawing back into the large doors the Gatekeeper gave Allen and Hyun-Ae accusing looks. "Even if he's touched with Innocence, you were going to just walk in here with him? He's basically a spy!" To the female exorcist he growled, "There's only so much _you_ can get away with!" Allen and Hyun-Ae stepped back when there was enough room; they bent and helped Kisho stand up. Allen gave the goldfish back to him and wondered what the Gatekeeper meant, but he didn't say anything. Hyun-Ae put her hands on her hips and frowned.

"What, this is the worst I've done?" She asked scornfully. "Please. It's under control, so don't worry your ugly massive head over it. Now then, if you'd be so kind as to let us in, I believe Bak contacted Komui with word of our arrival. With that and your exam I hope you will rest assured that we're not Akuma _or_ spies." Kisho and Allen nodded once, and the Gatekeeper spluttered indignantly but after a moment he opened the large gates. The three travelers stepped inside quickly in case the Gatekeeper made a last-minute decision to slam the doors on them.

"I won't forget this!"

"Good!" Allen shouted over his shoulder.

"It's good that's over," Kisho sighed, ignoring the remarks the Gatekeeper continued to yell.

"For now," Allen said, casting an apprehensive glance over his shoulder. But as he looked forward again his face brightened, seeing the large reddish-brownstone castle looming over them. He began walking faster even though he still hobbled because of his left ankle. Kisho and Hyun-Ae kept pace with him and after a few minutes made it inside the castle and took in their surroundings.

"It's great!" Kisho remarked, wide-eyed; behind his back Hyun-Ae looked at Allen and the two shared an amused look. "Looks like everyone's been working hard to clean it up." He walked forward to get a better look at the room ahead of them, which appeared to be a library that had a large dome over many partially empty bookshelves; lots of boxes of books were positioned around the bookshelves, and it was apparent that the books were still being unpacked. There were some comfortable-looking chairs past the bookshelves, though, as well as some large tables. "For an old castle it still looks good." Hyun-Ae nodded, looking around the hallway they were in with a look of discomfort, almost annoyance.

"Well, let's report to Komui. I'm sure he wants to know we made it here safely. And you both need to get checked out after that." Kisho looked left and right, then noticed that he could see across a large room in front of them that appeared to be some sort of a library and reading room; bookshelves partially filled with books, chairs at long wooden tables and sofas speckled the room. There was only one person in there now, and by the clothing he appeared to be a Finder sitting nonchalantly at one of the five tables.

"Emile!" Kisho suddenly called to the Finder as he recognized him, and waved his left hand animatedly. "Hey, over here!" The Finder had looked up at his first yell and now glanced directly toward him and stood quickly, then rushed across the room and through a doorway. Emile stopped directly in front of Kisho and looked immensely relieved to see the three of them.

"Master Walker! Master Morioka! And Lady Hyun-Ae. It's good to see you all back here safely."

"Hey!" Kisho greeted the Finder back, then shuffled his feet. "You don't have to call me 'master' anymore though," Kisho said, though had felt strange being called 'master' anyway. Emile gave a subtle nod of understanding.

"How did the journey go? I bet you're glad to finally be here."

"You don't know how glad," Allen laughed quietly.

Laughing, Emile gestured off to his left. "I'll take you to Supervisor Komui right now. Follow me."

"Thanks!" Kisho said, grinning, and started walking next to Emile. "How are you? How's everyone?"

"Busy, and tired. Most of the exorcists and Finders are resting now. They've all been working hard moving in, picking and cleaning their new rooms, and cleaning the whole castle. Jerry and Matron have been especially working hard; they've hardly had a break but they're doing fine. They like the new location and were glad to get back to work. After you see Komui I'll take you to see Matron."

"Actually, er, Emile," Hyun-Ae interjected, "after we talk to Komui, Kisho needs to pay Hevlaska a visit. Would that be possible?" Emile stopped in front of a door and his eyes widened as he looked from Hyun-Ae to Kisho.

"Yes, you could go see her…but is there a problem?" The Finder asked, worried. "I know that you can't use your Innocence anymore, but you haven't….." Kisho shook his head, then rubbed the back of his neck.

"No, nothing like that. It's a little complicated, but nothing really urgent. We just need to find something out…I'll explain later." Although he still looked worried Emile nodded and gestured to the doorway.

"This is Komui's office. He's happy having a new one that lets him store a lot more documents…though it makes him put things off even more." The four of them shared a 'what else is new' look, then entered after Emile knocked on the door. "Supervisor?" He asked politely, and when no one answered, he gestured to the three youths and together they walked towards a desk in the middle of the room.

"It looks almost exactly like his old office…." Allen noticed with a grimace. Right down to the desk in the middle of the room, the piles of papers on the desk, a pull-down map behind the desk, mounds of papers on tables around the room—and all of that surrounded by at least a dozen bookcases and cabinets—it was the spitting image of Komui's old office. Most of the papers on the desk and tables had coffee ring stains. It seemed Komui had gotten up sometime to shift papers from his desk to the tables, but now he was slumped over his desk, arms stretched over the edge, and it was obvious by his snoring that the man was out like a light. A pale blue mug had just enough space on Komui's desk to be squeezed between his arm and a large pile of papers. "So early and he's already messed the place up," the brown-haired exorcist groaned.

"Supervisor?" Emile asked again, but received no response from him even after shaking him a few times. Allen held up his hands casually and walked forward. Hyun-Ae watched him with a perplexed expression.

"What are you doing?"

"Watch. Just let me handle this." Clearing his throat next to Komui's ear he said, "Lenalee's getting married." Although this had worked in the past, the Chinese man seemed not to have been affected. He kept on snoring blissfully. "Not this time, huh?" Allen looked at Kisho who stepped back as he realized what was about to happen, and gave Allen a fierce glare.

"Don't even think about it," he growled, shaking his head warningly, but Allen just grinned sinisterly at him. "If you even speak the first syllable of my name to him I swear I will kick your face in!" Hyun-Ae covered her mouth with a hand and a muffled snort of laughter was heard; Emile's bandage face mask wrinkled as he smiled.

"Go ahead, if you can—with your short legs, I mean." Ignoring the threat Allen turned back to Komui, leaned close to his ear again and said loudly, "Kisho's going to marry Lenalee." Emile and Hyun-Ae jumped and Kisho yelled as Komui leapt to his feet and sent papers fluttering everywhere. Kisho stepped backward as Komui gave him an unpleasant glare and inched slowly around the desk, looking like an angry cat about to pounce on and mutilate something. He spoke in a low, raspy, threatening voice, different than his usual piercing wail of dismay.

"How _dare_ you...how dare you even _think_ about marrying her…you couldn't ever make her happy! And you're too young for her!" Emile cleared his throat loudly and stepped between the dazed teenager and Komui.

"Excuse me, sir, but I came to tell you that Master Walker, Kisho, and Hyun-Ae had arrived." Blinking, Komui straightened up and let his hands (which possibly had been threatening to grab and shake Kisho's shoulders) fall to his sides. He looked a little calmer now and straightened his glasses, then watched with a bewildered expression as Kisho swung his leg up towards Allen's face. But he blocked it easily by just lifting his hand and grabbing Kisho's shoe.

"You're so short that would never have worked," he laughed, a smug look on his face. "Try again some other time." Emile closed his eyes, then stepped closer to Allen and Kisho and clapped his hands on their shoulders. They glanced at him, then at Komui when Emile gestured with a jerk of his head. Komui had his arms crossed. Allen let go of Kisho's foot and the two stood silently, arms at their sides, eyes staring at the floor.

"Anyway….we were expecting you to get here sometime today and you made it right on time," Komui said, uncrossing his arms and adopting a pleasant tone. "How was the return trip? Did anything happen?" Kisho wondered if Komui had sensed something was wrong, and he opened his mouth to explain, but Hyun-Ae had already started telling recent events to him. The teenager was a little annoyed but he didn't interrupt and when she'd finished Komui gave Kisho a long look.

"I think it would be a good idea to go and see Hevlaska about this, and…." Allen and Kisho exchanged glances, then looked back at Komui.

"Could we go see everyone first?" Allen asked. Komui studied them for a few seconds, then nodded.

"I think that would be alright…but don't take too long. It's important that we get this figured out first." Kisho let out a breath and Allen smiled faintly.

"Thanks," they said at the same time.

As Kisho turned to leave, Hyun-Ae stopped him. He looked over his shoulder at her warily. She was crossing her arms with a, for once, uncertain look on her face. "Let me say this, Kisho. I don't think you should be too worried. If Shiori's smart she won't stay upset for long. I know from experience that when things like that happen, you can't just tell someone about it right away." She broke eye contact and stared off to one side. "Sometimes you have to come to terms with it first." Kisho stared at her and didn't say anything for a few moments. Hyun-Ae rolled her eyes.

"Who are you and what did you do with…."

"Just get out of here and go see everyone, twerp," Hyun-Ae snapped and Kisho smiled.

"Thanks. Well….see you later." Komui and Kisho left the room, leaving Kisho and Allen to go and find the others.

Allen and Kisho managed to not get lost while walking around this time, and soon reached an area of the main hall where they'd seen a reading area earlier. There were several people—Finders and Exorcists—gathered there now, some sitting and others searching the shelves for books, but a small group of people in particular caught his eye. Lavi, Lenalee, Miranda, Camille, Chaoji, Reever, and Johnny were there talking animatedly, not bothering to keep their voices down. A group of other exorcists and Finders had gathered around them, listening. There was someone else standing with them and saying something, seemingly in response to Lenalee, who looked relieved and gave a deep sigh. Kisho didn't recognize who she was and wondered if she was an exorcist he hadn't seen very often or at all. Johnny suddenly pointed towards Kisho and Allen. The whole group turned to see them and waved. Kisho waved back, though he guessed the other woman was just waving to be polite because he didn't know who she was. The other exorcists and Finders were smiling and looking happy to see them back, but only a few were waving and Allen waved back to them, but Kisho didn't recognize them (but waved anyway, although he felt a little stupid). Maybe the unknown person was someone Allen knew and she'd been waving to him instead. But Kisho was surprised when she suddenly dashed over to him and threw out her arms. Startled, Kisho felt his body move instinctively to avoid her. The woman looked confused, then smiled and let her arms fall slowly to her sides.

"I guess I know you…." Kisho began cautiously, "but I don't recognize you. I'm sorry." The woman shook her head.

"It's alright. You do know me…we've known each other since we were kids."

"…Since we were little?" Kisho echoed, and suddenly it hit him. "Shiori!" He yelled her name, then lunged forward and threw his uninjured arm around her. "It's been ages since I saw you like this. You've changed." He felt wetness on his face and Shiori was hugging him tightly too. "I'm sorry that I didn't recognize you."

"It's alright…it's alright. I don't care. I'm just glad you're here." To Kisho's alarm, Shiori picked him up and began spinning in circles. At the same moment Lenalee was approaching Allen and asking him if he was alright.

"What happened to your ankle?" Lenalee asked worriedly, looking down at Allen's bandaged leg, then up into his silver-gray eyes.

"I sprained it," Allen responded, "but it's getting better," he said quickly, trying to reassure the Lenalee that everything was alright now.

"And what did you do to your hair?" Lenalee asked, reaching out impulsively to touch part of it, as if she thought it was a wig. Seeing his hair brown was a big change from always seeing it white. Surprised, Allen lifted his hand to touch Lenalee's as she tugged a lock of his hair once but he stopped.

"This is what color it always was…before I got cursed, I mean."

"It looks nice," Lenalee smiled. Allen felt his face getting warmer. When he looked around awkwardly, Lavi caught his attention and winked his only visible eye, then grinned knowingly. Allen quickly looked back towards Lenalee and attempted to ignore his rapid heartbeat.

"It's real, so you don't have to pull it anymore," he laughed softly. Lenalee's eyes flicked to Allen's left eye, and a strange emotion ran across her face—she looked startled, relieved, and happy. Then she looked down and rubbed her eyes; Allen just gave her a wistful smile. Shiori, still spinning Kisho, cried, "I never thought I'd see you again!" When she put him down, Kisho staggered off dizzily and slammed into a nearby column. Shiori cringed, and looked guiltily at everyone, and they watched her, looking both amused and surprised. "Oops." Kisho held onto the column while he waited for the room to start spinning. When his dizziness had gone, he turned to everyone again.

"I'm sorry," Shiori said, unable to think of anything else to say.

"Why?" Kisho asked. "I forgive you for almost making me get sick, but that's the only thing that's your fault."

"Your arm, though…" She persisted, feeling a twinge of sympathy. Kisho thought for a second.

"It's fine, thanks to Allen. He fixed it." Shiori looked quickly from Kisho to Allen and her eyebrows lifted.

"Oh, yes, so you're a doctor now, are you?" Camille asked, beaming. "Doctor Walker. I was impressed when I heard that he set your arm. It took me a while to learn how to do that." The Finder helped exorcists find Innocence but she was also a beginning doctor who was learning from Matron and Komui. Allen rubbed his head, looking uncomfortable but modestly pleased.

"I just kind of went for it…I didn't know what I was doing. I just knew that you need to set the bone and immobilize it," he muttered, smiling nervously. Camille patted his shoulder and smiled up at him.

"That's all you need to know, and the best you could do. I'll tell people that you have a license so you don't get in trouble for illegally practicing medicine," she said cheerfully and laughed. Everyone laughed too, then Kisho looked back at Shiori's face.

"Your Innocence must have synchronized fully, right? I bet you're happy." Shiori nodded but had a frustrated frown on her face.

"Yeah, I am, but I got used to...well…" She tugged irritably at her sleeves. "I was used to not wearing clothes. I like the clothes you gave me, Komui, but they itch. I guess I just need to get used to them again." Shiori was a uniform that had black pants with silver stripes on the outside of the leg and silver patches on the inside thigh, a dark gray shirt and a black short sleeved jacket. She also had black gloves on and a black and silver collar with a cross-shaped nametag hung loosely around her neck. "I also have kind of hit a roadblock," she said with a deep sigh and Kisho felt a twinge of worry.

"What happened?" He asked, sounding worried.

"I don't know how to use my Innocence as a human. I don't even know if I can. Missions start again tomorrow for most exorcists—some still have to rest and recover—but I'm under house arrest until I can figure out how to activate it."

"In the doghouse, one might say," Lavi quipped, and grinned despite the groans that followed his statement. "Don't let it get you down. Just train like you've never trained before and you'll work something out, Fluffles."

"I just got used to Shady," Shiori griped, "and you start calling me Fluffles?" Lavi nodded casually.

"Yep." Shiori began grumbling incoherently, but this just made Lavi's grin wider. She complained when teased, but didn't try to kill anyone, which made it entertaining to tease her. Lavi might have to start annoying her more; it was funny to hear her grumble so much, and obvious to see that she was holding back on reacting violently since she was in human form now. When she was a wolf, she would growl or bite, two things that would make her look pretty strange as a human.

"Hey, come with me," Kisho murmured quietly, and she looked down at him, then nodded. She felt that Kisho wanted to tell her something important, so she tried not to attract attention as she moved away from the group with Kisho, but Lavi noticed her sneaking away with Kisho and when he called to them everyone looked up with curious expressions.

"Where are you going?" He asked lightly, but his grin faded when Kisho's expression darkened even further.

"Something like that. Sorry to leave so soon." Nervously, Shiori smiled and waved at everyone as they walked away.

"See you later, alright?" She called and received a jumbled chorus of "See you" from everyone. Kisho continued to tug Shiori along by her left arm until they had reached the top of the stairs where the rooms were. Shiori had given him directions along the way since Kisho didn't know where everything was yet, and when he asked she showed him where his room was. It was next to Shiori's and she opened the door for him and gestured inside with a smile. "Lavi and Chaoji helped me fix up our rooms and they put your things in here too." She smiled and gestured to a plain brown box—it was the only thing in the room aside from a bed, a desk with a wooden chair, and an unlit oil lamp. The window had faded blue curtains over it. Kisho took the cup from Shiori and walked to the desk. He placed the cup of water with the goldfish inside on its surface, then moved towards the box, picked it up carefully and turned towards Shiori. He took a deep breath.

"Mom told me to give this to you if anything happened to her. It's for your twentieth birthday, but….since something did happen I'm giving it to you early." He winced at his choice of words but decided not to try and take them back; he just walked to Shiori and handed her the large square box and watched as she gazed at him, then the box, with misty eyes. Slowly her hand edged towards the lid and she lifted it, set it down on the floor carefully, and gasped when she looked inside. It was a kimono, something Shiori would wear on her twentieth birthday, the coming-of-age day. She knew right away that it was her mother's and had been given to her by her mother. A spring green kimono belt was tied around a pale yellow kimono with orange and white flowers and circles decorating its surface. Shiori saw that there was a light purple layer underneath the main one and she stared at the outfit for a few minutes, her heart beating heavily. Normally on the Coming-of-Age Day young women who had turned twenty would dress up in either furisode kimono with long sleeves. Young men would wear a white kimono under a black kimono, and gray hakama pants over the black kimono. There would also be a black long sleeved jacket over the whole outfit with a special seal on each side near the shoulder.

Shiori's father had worn one of those for his Coming-of-Age Day, and she had thought that Kisho would live most of his life in their hometown and have his ceremony but things obviously hadn't gone that way. Shiori hadn't been able to take it with her and it had likely been destroyed along with everything and everyone else. She suddenly had a suspicion that the only thing Kisho had taken time to grab was her grandmother's kimono and her face started to burn.

"Listen, Shiori….I've been…keeping something from you," Kisho said, his eyes focused on the floor. He had to tell her now or else he'd never get the courage to again. "I'm not happy that I did. I don't know what you'll think of me after I tell you, but I almost died before I could tell you and I realized that I should tell you while I still have a chance. You need and deserve to know." Shiori picked the lid up and put it back on the box, then set the box on the desk quickly before walking back towards Kisho. She was getting a sick feeling in the pit of her stomach and suddenly felt like she wanted to leave because whatever was coming next she didn't think she'd like hearing.

"Tell me." She smiled, trying to keep her voice steady. Kisho gulped and looked into Shiori's face and forced himself to not break eye contact.

"Mom didn't die because of the attack. She died when an Akuma killed her." Kisho almost choked out the last words but managed to keep his voice steady. Shiori stared at him, her expression conveying neither shock, sorrow, or anger. Her mouth was pressed in a line, her eyebrows hadn't risen or dipped, and her eyes were glassy. "Cloud Nyne and I found her with the Earl. We don't know who she was trying to call back, if it was dad or….me because she thought I'd been killed. But I tried to activate my Innocence and failed…"

"You tried to kill her?" Shiori asked and Kisho flinched; her voice wasn't angry or accusing, but somehow that was worse.

"No…! I tried to kill dad, or else he would have killed mom. But I couldn't activate my Innocence. I would have died too if Cloud Nyne hadn't been there..." A flash caught Kisho's eye; it seemed the backs of Shiori's hands were glowing green. "Shiori?" He asked, tentatively, and jolted in alarm when the light suddenly brightened and almost blinded him.

"The Earl….he's the reason she died….he's _really _the reason. It wasn't just because of the attack." Shiori clenched her fists, then turned towards the wall and struck out with her right hand. "That fat…." Shiori began rattling off swear words, some in Japanese, but others in English that he didn't understand but got the gist of. She moved as if to punch the wall, but a grinding, ripping noise reached Kisho's ears and he looked up from covering his eyes with his left arm and gaped in bewilderment. Four long, jagged marks about three feet long had been gouged in the wall and Shiori stood there gasping as she stared at her forearms. Covering her hands were bright green glowing gloves with five long green glowing claws sticking out of each finger. Upon closer inspection Kisho observed that the 'gloves' actually looked something like fingers, still, but more curved and clawed with long, thin glowing nails. She seemed to have gained humanoid paws where her hands should be.

"Alright now…..what is this….?" Shiori murmured, shaking her hands.

"Parasite-Type Accommodators have Anti-Akuma Weapons that respond to their emotions," Kisho said, staring in amazement. "I know you usually hit me when you're mad….thanks for not doing that this time," He joked weakly, but backed up when Shiori rounded on him. Her face had changed; her eyes were widened in hostility, and it looked like the color had gone out of them, so instead of dark brown they appeared black. It scared Kisho for a minute and he was at a loss for words. Shiori raised her hand; Kisho closed his eyes and braced himself for the blow that would come. When nothing happened, he lifted his eyes open a little; her eyes were closed, her fists clenched, and the green light faded. The female exorcist exhaled slowly and lifted her head to the ceiling.

"I don't believe it…I know it was hard to tell me, but I didn't want you to be dealing with this on your own the whole time!" Kisho gazed at her, his legs shaking badly, and a second later he sank onto his knees. Shiori held her head and clenched her jaw. "I can't believe…mom did that." A distressed moan escaped her mouth. Kisho pressed his left hand into the floor and tried to stop shaking. Then he lifted his arm and put it on Shiori's shoulder.

"I can't, either, but….who's really…behind all of this?" He asked hoarsely, voice shaking, and feelings that he'd held back while he'd been speaking finally spilled over. "She missed you and dad, and might have thought I was dead when she couldn't find me. So maybe because mom was a little more emotionally vulnerable, so the Earl went to her."

"Don't look at this in a professional way!" Shiori snapped, and Kisho felt a little angry.

"Is that fair to the people that died getting here?" He demanded, giving his sister's body a little shake. She felt a throb of guilt and remembered the exorcist Celio had been partnered with. Kisho held up his arm in a shrug and looked disgusted with himself. "Granted, I was doing the same thing, but that was selfish of me. I knew mom and it was hard to lose her, but I can know what happened. It's my responsibility. Other people that lost family members because of the Earl will never know what happened to them." Shiori pushed Kisho's hand away.

"I'm an insider; why did you keep it from me?"

"I was an exorcist when I came here, and I could keep things to myself. That was a right I had. Now I'm a Finder and I can't do that anymore." Shiori stared at him with a hurt and enraged look on her face.

"So that's the only reason you told me? Because you lost your right to _lie_ to people?"

"Wha…no!" Kisho shook his head frantically. "I didn't mean it like that! I meant….I mean that…I lost that right when I kept hiding the truth from you. Everyone at The Black Order knows the truth about what's going on. I think that, as an exorcist, I abused the position that put me in. I didn't tell you because I was scared, because I was still getting over it. It's bad, I know. I'm sorry." He lowered his head.

"Kisho…I want to be alone." Shiori's eyes were red and puffy and tears were still quickly streaming down her face. "If I don't go somewhere else now, I'll keep taking everything out on you." Without another word Shiori turned swiftly and left. Kisho covered his eyes with his only good hand.

_Don't try to hold your feelings back or they'll haunt you forever. Let them out and then let them go._

_I shouldn't let her be alone…going to her means she'll yell and probably beat the crap out of me but…I wouldn't blame her. _Rising to his feet, Kisho almost started running after her, but remembered that he had to go see Hevlaska, so he reluctantly walked out of the room and went in the opposite direction Shiori had run.

* * *

**Well, there it is. I don't know how well I do with drama, but eh….anyway, hope you enjoyed the chapter! I noticed I have a lot of tiny detail and spelling mistakes...maybe obvious, or not, I'm not sure (I said I was lazy somewhere...here...oh, down there xD)...so I tried really hard to go through and check this chapter.**

**Sigh…summer is either already over for some of you or is coming to an end soon. I think I wouldn't like it if summer lasted forever but I don't really like cold weather…although the holidays are fun so I probably will get over it quick! I just hope I not get upset at waking up in the morning and see that it's still dark. I sleep so late in the summer…I'm just…a super-bedhead. But I am looking forward to things, like the archery class I'm going to be taking, my sister and her husband coming to visit in December, and some new games coming out (LOL). I love cooking around the holidays and listening to music with my family while we cook. And whenever we put the tree up, Minnie—our cat—climbs it and sits at the top. It's funny that she loves climbing it so much, but I always try and be ready to catch her if I need to.**


	38. Resonance

**Oh, boy….there's a lot of "internal conversation" in this chapter, namely with Kisho and some background explanation. I don't know if all of that'll be good or bad or boring…..but it's necessary, I promise. Or you can skip the chapter if it gets too slow and I don't think it will be detrimental to the story.  
I do love to 'talk'…not strictly speaking because I'm writing (hahaha).**

**I don't own D. Gray Man or its characters except mine, but I love writing about it as you can see.**

**This chapter brought to you by waffles! Oh, waffle time, it's waffle time, will you have some waffles of mine? (Holds up plate of waffles)**

**Allen: I don't know what's gotten into you but I am really hungry. So yes.**

**I don't own Scrubs either for anyone who watches it. I actually don't…(yet)…I've watched Youtube videos xD It looks good interesting though so I think I'll change that and start watching Scrubs.**

Chapter Thirty-Five - Resonance

"Hi, Hevlaska," Kisho greeted the Innocence Keeper, glad to see her even though he was nervous about what she might tell him. "How are you?"

"_Fine. But what about you? You seem anxious."_

"I guess…it's just because lots of things have happened," Kisho replied, shrugging his shoulders a bit.

"_Relax. Everything will be fine. Do your best to find as many Innocence and Heart fragments as you can. I think you don't have anything to worry about. If anything happens, everything will be alright. You aren't facing everything on your own."_

"I don't think I can find Innocence on my own yet." He shrugged once. "Maybe I can't. I'm still trying to figure it out." Kisho said quietly, and stood still when the Innocence Keeper reached tendrils for him and wrapped them around his body. One touched his chest and a bright pulse of light sparked between Kisho's chest and the tendril. The young teenager closed his eyelids and then opened them slowly. Instead of the irises being their usual dark brown they were glowing white. Komui stepped forward quietly.

"What's going on, Hevlaska?" He asked quietly. "Is it a trance again?" Hevlaska didn't look at Komui or nod agreement; she was focused on examining Kisho. After a few moments she turned her head towards Komui and answered.

"_It seems that the Heart particles that he received are circulating through his bloodstream, and multiplying along with his blood cells…."_

"But everything else is normal?" Komui prompted when the Innocence Keeper trailed off.

"_Yes, everything's normal, although…" _A new voice interrupted whatever she'd been about to say; Komui and Hevlaska saw Kisho's lips moving. Instead of him speaking, it was a voice that sounded neither male nor female, and no real age could be tacked to the voice, either—but at the very least the unfamiliar voice sounded immemorial. An ethereal tone rang through the words too. Komui was rendered speechless for a moment, not that he would have spoken anyway, for he had to focus on what the voice—whoever it might be—was saying.

"_There was not enough power to completely destroy the Golem that tore a hole in his heart. I would have sealed up the hole completely if the Golem was gone. I will dissolve it little by little, and then fill up the hole, using the boy's body to do so."_

"You were right…." Komui remarked to Hevlaska, "the Innocence particles were in his heart, so it must be pumping blood and the Innocence particles through his body."

"_Yes!" _The ethereal voice said. _"Just like his blood, the particles are circulating through his system, and replicating, so in this way I will, in time, completely dissolve the Golem. I will also allow this boy to sense where other Innocence, normal and fragments of me, are located. This is how he will be a locator."_

"Because Innocence particles will be inside his body, they activate when another Innocence is near, and then he'll be drawn to them?" Komui asked quietly and Kisho's head nodded once.

"_...Yes."_

"So you're part of the Heart of Innocence," Komui mused slowly. "How did that happen?"

"_I was found," _came the somewhat mournful reply, _"and almost destroyed, but I scattered pieces of myself across the world. Some exorcists have found me; some haven't, but could. Some pieces of my being have already been found and destroyed. Remember this,"_ the voice commanded, suddenly sharp. Komui and Hevlaska listened carefully. _"A normal Innocence and a fragment of me are, if joined together, safe from the effects of Dark Matter. They will protect the host, as well. But if any more Heart fragments are destroyed, then the result of that will be felt."_

"Effects?" Komui asked, frowning, his forehead wrinkled in concentration.

"_He'll feel the fragments being destroyed. I can't say how he'll react, but remember that it may weaken him, and any others touched by me." _The voice paused, and Kisho's eyes closed for a moment, then opened slowly. _ "This child can use his blood to heal others, but each time he does, I become weaker and so does he. He won't suffer any more ill effects from that Golem. It's broken, and I'll fix the hole in his heart soon."_ Komui and Hevlaska inclined their heads once. "_He won't remember any of what I have said. It will be like he just fell asleep."_

"_Thank you," _Hevlaska said, and again Kisho's head nodded. As his eyes closed Hevlaska released him; he staggered but Komui took Kisho's left arm and helped the teenager stay upright. Between Komui and Hevlaska explaining to him Kisho learned what had happened.

"Thanks," Kisho murmured, "I get it now." Turning to the Innocence Keeper, Komui lowered his head appreciatively.

"We're going back up. Thank you for everything you've done."

"_It was my pleasure. You may both come back anytime. And could you tell Allen, Lenalee, Krory, Miranda, and Lavi that as well?" _Kisho nodded._ "It gets lonely down here, even with all of the Innocence speaking to me."_

Komui and Kisho gave tired smiles and waved to Hevlaska as she became smaller and disappeared from sight as the lift reached the top. The lift gate swung open and Komui helped Kisho walk out to the door. "I get weaker each time I heal someone...but I never have healed anyone." Komui looked sideways at Kisho as his hand turned the doorknob. When the door opened a rectangular piece of light flooded the hallway that led from the lift to the exit. Komui was silent; he sensed that Kisho was talking about something else—something that he hadn't learned from Hevlaska or the Innocence, but rather something that he'd figured out from the information given earlier.

"I don't know how it would work. But maybe," Komui replied quietly, stopping in the hallway just outside, "it is the same principle as parasitic Innocence helping their hosts recover faster. Although you can't use the Innocence you have as a weapon, it could be almost the same as a Parasite type, since it's part of you." Kisho looked away and down at the floor.

"That makes sense," Kisho said, but inside, he felt a little worried. "I want to go rest now, but I want to go find Shiori." Komui looked questioningly at him.

"Did you talk to her already?"

"I did, but she's upset…." He felt a wave of remorse. "I know why. Anyway, she ran off somewhere."

"She could want to be alone," Komui reminded Kisho, and his shoulders slumped.

"That's what she told me. But I don't want to leave her alone now. I'm the reason she's upset, so I want to try and…make her feel better, I guess."

"That's fine," Komui approved calmly, "but I think you should go get some rest now. You still have a busy schedule. You're going to train as a Finder from now on."

"What will I learn?" Kisho asked, and stopped outside his room. Komui had led him to it since the teenager still didn't know how to find his way. Komui rubbed his head and gestured for Kisho to go inside his room.

"Diplomacy, navigation, weather interpretation, Akuma detection, defense and combat training."

"Still combat? Even for Finders, I mean," Kisho added quickly.

"Yes," Komui nodded decisively. "Most Finders have a style of fighting they learned, even if they can't do much against Akuma." He furrowed his brow and thought back to what Hevlaska said, and looked down at Kisho with an insightful look on his face. "Maybe you'll be able to, though," he muttered, and Kisho barely heard him, but didn't ask for him to repeat it. "Get some rest. I'll tell you more later."

"Good…I mean…thank you," Kisho said, then turned and walked into his room, and heard Komui shut the door behind him. Once inside, he took a moment to look at everything there: a desk with a lamp, a chair, a window with a nice view of the surrounding field and forested mountain, a small bathroom with a sink, a bathtub, and the usual toiletries. He went inside it and splashed cold water on his face. Kisho cracked a smile when he saw some of them: a bar of soap, a bone toothbrush, and a straight razor. He didn't—and probably wouldn't—need to use it, though, so he guessed it probably was just part of a standard bunch of bathroom items. Back out in his new room, he looked around again. On the chair was a white dress shirt and dark blue tie, black pants, and a dusty brown cloak—his new uniform. Yawning, he sat on his bed, then curled up with his head against the pillow and got under the covers. Too tired to get out of his old exorcist uniform, he decided he'd just go to sleep. Rolling from his left side onto his back, his eyes closed and he dropped off almost immediately.

Thunder boomed right outside the window and Kisho shot upright in bed, his heart pounding. It took a minute for him to calm down and realize it was just a storm. Rain was pattering against his bedroom window and he blinked when a flash lit up the sky. He normally liked storms, as long as the rain didn't flood everything into oblivion, because clearly most things grew a lot easier if there was water. The rain here, in Russia, seemed like it would be cold rain instead of warm like back home….but at least there would be less mosquitoes…or so one could hope. But the thunder had left an uneasy, dark feeling in the pit of Kisho's stomach…maybe it was just because he'd been woken up so suddenly by the loud noise, out of a strange dream whose details he couldn't remember.

Yawning, Kisho got up and made his bed, then smoothed out his clothes. Unsure of what time it was, but knowing he wouldn't get back to sleep, the teenager went into the bathroom and began pulling off his clothes. In the mirror he could see that they were pretty dirty and beaten up, but still wearable if he could wash them though since he wasn't an exorcist it would be strange if he did. Remembering there was a half mirror in the bathroom he went into the small room and lifted up his shirt. Kisho gave an amazed grimace while taking off his dirty clothes himself: the large bite mark from the Akuma was finally closed up and it looked like the stitches could be taken out now.

The wound still looked bad, but wasn't as red as it had been before, and the teenager was able to walk around without it opening up or hurting too much. The bite marks were slowly starting to turn pink but the injured area probably wouldn't ever look the same as the rest of the skin on his body. As long as it healed and didn't hurt for the rest of his life, he didn't really care about having a scar….but if the wound had been on any part of his body not covered by clothes Kisho knew he would get shocked looks from people wherever he went. There were some bruises across his body: brown, yellowish green, and a few that were brownish-red. There was some purplish red and blue bruising showing from underneath the cast on his right arm. Kisho frowned. Komui told him that it should be alright for him to get the stitches wet (Kisho wasn't the only one who'd noticed he needed an actual bath instead of just washing his hair and uninjured areas) so he put warm water in the bathtub, washed himself, and felt a lot better when he got out.

Kisho got on his black pants and white shirt quickly, then stared at the tie for a few seconds before putting it aside. Maybe he'd ask someone later how to put it on. He felt a little strange about wearing the brown cloak, and he hesitated a moment, then stuck his left arm through its sleeve. He guessed it felt strange because it was new. Kisho used his left hand to tug the sling off his right arm, then carefully pulled it through the sleeve. Tugging the cloak over his head, Kisho discovered that it had a hood but decided to leave it down for now. The shirt and pants were fine even though he wasn't normally used to wearing that kind of style, but the cloak was different but not bad, and the tie was…probably no one would notice if he didn't wear it. The brown cloak was light, but still heavy and warm enough for cold places, he thought. It was also just about his size; the sleeves halfway covered his hands, so Kisho rolled them up just short of his wrists. It wasn't bad, and he'd probably get used to the new clothes pretty soon. Kisho could adjust to new things fairly quickly with little complaint, but felt bad for Shiori and her clothes that were itchy because she wasn't used to them. He laughed to himself, then thought for a moment.

How long should he wait before he went to talk to her? Surprisingly this was the first time he'd lied about something important just because he didn't know how to say it. But the truth was that often Kisho didn't tell the truth. When he was eight he promised his mother he'd never get into fights with any of the neighborhood boys anymore (but did up until he was eleven); he'd lied to Shiori when he was ten and told her that a fox had taken her dessert, then when he was twelve (just before Shiori had left) he'd put hot ginger root in Shiori's fish and in revenge she'd put wasabi in his rice. They'd both gotten punished at the same time then, and those were just some of the incidents. It was a wonder the siblings got along as well as they did now. That was more to their mother's credit, though, because she had kept them in line. Kisho didn't hold things against people—depending on how serious it was—but liked being challenged. He hadn't ever dealt with telling a person that someone they knew had died, and so had been oblivious as to how to deal with that.

Shiori didn't hold deep grudges either, but had a hard time letting things go once "it was on"—either because she was angry, or because it was one of the ways she enjoyed interacting with people once she opened up to them. Sometimes Kisho got away with lying, but what often happened was that either his mother or Shiori had seen through him, so he got in trouble a lot. The fact that he was sometimes automatically dishonest didn't mean he was good at lying. He'd tried to lie to Tykki earlier to buy Allen some time, but that hadn't gone exactly as planned, yet luckily things had turned out alright in the end.

A growl came from Kisho's stomach and he realized suddenly that he'd been hungry for a while. Before he left his new room, Kisho spotted a light brown bag on the chair that seemed to have been under the clothes. _Probably for medical supplies, and other things..._

Checking inside, he counted rolls and rolls of bandages, several packages of large pieces of gauze, bottles of medicine inside a smaller padded bag, braces for arm and leg injuries, supplies for splints, and something that looked like an emergency stitching kit. At first Kisho stared at it, then realized it was for sewing up injuries, and pretty serious ones, from the look of the tools inside. A sick feeling came over Kisho for some reason, but it wasn't strong, so he just ignored it and put the bag over his shoulder. He probably would have medical training somewhere along the line, and was glad he'd be learning how to treat peoples' injuries. He might be feeling anxious about it but was still looking forward to learning about it. Kisho opened the door to his room and walked out, shutting the door quietly behind him. As he walked down the hall, he looked up at the ceiling absent-mindedly, but suddenly felt light headed and stopped. Kisho thought it would go away soon, betting he was just hungry, but it didn't. A strange sound was filling his ears, reminding him of wind blowing through a narrow space. It was an eerie sound, sounding almost like a faint scream. A spread through his body as the dizziness continued. His heart was beating so fast and he began gasping. Panic rose in his chest, like he was being chased. But no one was chasing him—not right now, at least. He knew more than a few people had a bone to pick with him.

Kisho sank to his knees and leaned against the wall, holding his head and taking deep breaths. Without warning a stab of pain burst through his chest and he went rigid with a gasp. He stayed on his knees for a moment longer, then rose gingerly to his feet, but didn't feel dizzy and no more pain came. He walked slowly down the hall, getting lost a few times, but he eventually got directions to the cafeteria from an exorcist who seemed happy to point the way for him. His stomach growled even more when he got a whiff of food from the cafeteria, and he headed eagerly towards it, his mouth watering. Wondering if Allen would be there, Kisho reached inside his pocket and looked at the piece of paper with the strange symbol on it. After getting something to eat, he resolved to ask Allen if he wanted to come with him and ask Reever about the symbol. He stopped suddenly. A thought had taken his attention away from that for the moment.

Hevlaska and Komui had said that the Heart's voice had said when fragments of it—and probably normal Innocence—were destroyed, those who were touched by it felt the effects. Since Allen had a fragment, that meant he could have felt something, too. What if, back there, the reason for that dizzy spell had been because one had been destroyed?

Kisho's skin went cold and chill bumps broke out on his skin. The reason for it made sense, but he wished it wasn't true. The Noah or Earl must have gotten a piece of Innocence and destroyed it. Kisho clenched his fists, crushing the piece of paper into a wad. How did the Noah find Innocence? Did they just stumble across them sometimes by following Akuma, or could they sense the material that was opposed to them? Either way, it was bad news for The Black Order; either way, the Noah were trying to get one step closer to destroying all the Innocence.

"Morning!...Oi! Earth to shrimp!" Kisho's stomach growled; shrimp sounded good right now. "Why are you just standing here?" Lavi was glancing down at Kisho with a quizzical expression. "This isn't exactly a good place to meditate, especially since Allen is on the warpath down here right now….yep, here he comes." Lavi took hold of the back of Kisho's cloak and dragged him towards the wall, and they both turned their heads just in time to see a blur speed past them. Lavi shook his head in wonder. "Allen's ankle hasn't slowed him down at all. Komui made a new leg brace that lets him walk like nothing happened to him." The resulting breeze from Allen zooming by made Lavi and Kisho's hair whip around a little. The redhead grumbled and walked crossly into the cafeteria, and Kisho walked beside him. "I should have just gotten in line…" Filing behind Allen, Lavi tried to start a conversation, but he was busy ordering a huge menu of food so the redhead gave up and turned to Kisho. Raising an eyebrow, he commented, "You look pale. Did you see a ghost?"

"No…I just…." Kisho replied, trailing off. On the tip of his tongue was the dire news that an Innocence fragment might have been destroyed. If he told even Komui, Kisho didn't know what good it would do after the fact, but after the incident with Shiori the teenager decided to be open this time. "This might be hard to believe…."

"Try me," Lavi interjected, rolling his eye. "I've seen plenty of unbelievable stuff."

"An Innocence fragment was…" Kisho saw he'd gotten Lavi's attention by the way his face hardened with a grim sort of interest. "….just destroyed."

"How do you even know that?" The redhead asked, sounding incredulous, but not condescending. Lavi knew that Kisho could sense where Innocence fragments were, but he didn't know yet that he could feel them being destroyed.

"You noticed something strange too, then." Allen had finished his meal order and was staring at the pair, suddenly looking tired, despite his eager mad dash to the food line moments earlier. "I wondered what had happened…it didn't seem good."

"It wasn't," Kisho said. "I saw Hevlaska when I got back."

"What'd she say?" Lavi asked, and the teenager explained as best he could to them.

"When a Heart fragment is destroyed, people who came in contact with one feel the effects. It might be only—or mostly—for Parasite-Type exorcists."

"Lucky you," Lavi grunted to Allen. "That means each time one is destroyed, it could get worse. Not that it isn't already bad enough." Rubbing his head, Lavi heaved a sigh. "Ah, well….no use talking about serious stuff while we're hungry." Once Allen had taken his food back to the table (making several trips) Lavi ordered French toast, strips of bacon, and orange juice, while Kisho ordered rice, nattou, grilled fish, three fried shrimp, and water.

"So, you think that since the Heart fragment you got," Lavi gestured to Allen, who was listening but eating enthusiastically, "and the bit of power it gave to you," he pointed to Kisho, "lets you feel what it's feeling, or something?" They nodded.

"Just a little while ago, I felt lightheaded," Allen began, his mouth full of waffle, "and my arm felt like someone was stabbing it over and over. Then suddenly it stopped and it was like nothing had happened…except that I felt uneasy." Allen swallowed and drank the apple juice he'd gotten. "Who wouldn't be, after that?"

"I felt that way too," Kisho muttered, "but my chest hurt. And my whole body kind of…went cold." Inadvertently he shuddered. "I was thinking we should tell Komui…"

"…But that it wouldn't do much good after the fact, right?" Lavi guessed. "And he knows the Noah are looking for them already. We'll be Fragment hunting for a while. Lots of exorcists have died over the years, and Hevlaska's keeping their Innocence safe." Allen locked his fingers and rested his chin on them.

"That's a handful of Innocence without Accommodators. And we just lost you as an exorcist—in a manner of speaking." Allen put his hand on Kisho's head and pushed it forward.

"I know, I'm going to have to make up for it by finding a lot of Innocence."

"You're grounded, though," Lavi commented in an offhand sort of way. Allen lifted his hand, looking at Lavi, and Kisho raised his head to stare at the redhead too. "You need to go through a whole new bunch of training. You need to learn medical procedures—learning everything the current Finders know will probably take a year or more—and learning to fight with some kind of weapon or style will maybe take that long, too. So that's at least a year and a half hiatus. After that, you'll be good enough to get by in the field, but still not really qualified. But once you get all that done it'll be cake."

"A year and a half—!" Kisho started saying, and Allen held up his hands nervously, smiling in a pacifying manner.

"You'll be able to learn a lot of things by staying around here. And since you'll be here for a while, you'll have a lot of time to figure out that thing." Kisho remembered the crumpled paper he'd shoved back into his pocket in his panic that an Innocence had been found and destroyed.

"Oh….the symbol." Without thinking Kisho pulled it out and carefully smoothed out the wrinkles on the table, then picked it up. Lavi grinned nervously and Allen went rigid. Kisho looked up, puzzled, then jumped when he saw Kanda standing behind Lavi with a look of resentment on his face. "Kanda." His mind raced for a minute. What did other Finders call exorcists? Master? That was great; Kanda would think he was being smart. "Master Kanda. Good morning, sir," he said awkwardly, using some polite English he'd learned. Lavi looked away and smirked wryly, while Allen became interested in his meal again. _I thought so. Anything polite coming from me just sounds sarcastic._

"Be quiet," Kanda snapped, then headed around the table to where Kisho was sitting and snatched the little piece of paper out of his fingers. "Do you know what this is?"

_Paper,_ Kisho thought, but answered, "Some….Sanskrit symbol?" Bak had told him that much, but he hadn't thought of asking him more about it.

"Where did you find it?"

"In a book at the Asia Branch." Kanda's eyes narrowed dangerously, and Kisho felt himself cringing under the exorcist's harsh gaze. He'd never seen Kanda this mad before, and he usually appeared bothered about something.

"You talked to that fool Bak about this, did you? What did he ask you?"

"Ask me?" Kisho was confused. "He didn't ask me anything. That was the only thing he told me—about it being Sanskrit…."

"Enough!" Allen shook his head and looked up at Kanda.

"Come on, don't make a scene here," the younger exorcist sighed, using a tone that suggested he was scolding a child for behaving badly in public.

"Shut up, _Bean Sprout_," Kanda growled. Kisho looked over at Allen.

"'_Bean Sprout_'?" Allen's face lit up.

"Oh….that's right! Kanda, call him _Bean Sprout_ now." He put his hand on Kisho's head and ruffled his hair until it was sticking up even more than usual.

"Get off!"

"That's not a bad idea," Lavi agreed, nodding thoughtfully. "I mean, some days I don't know where he is, but then I remember I should probably just look down to make sure I'm not going to step on him." Kisho grabbed Allen's wrist and shoved his arm away.

"Alright. How funny, I'm short! I get it," the teenager remarked dryly. Kanda closed his fist around the piece of paper.

"Let me warn you that it's none of your business," Kanda hissed dangerously. "I don't know why you had this, but if I were you, I'd forget about it." Without another word Kanda stalked off.

"That was good thinking," Lavi said, exhaling deeply after Kanda left. Kisho nodded, turning to look at Kanda leaving. Most people were making sure to stay out of his way, since it was obvious that he was now in a terrific mood. Looking back the young Finder felt himself grinning.

"I think he left just so he wouldn't have to hear you talking anymore," he laughed. Lavi pretended to look hurt.

"Watch it. I might really accidentally step on you one day." Kisho shrugged indifferently and smirked. Allen sighed.

"It feels good to shift the short jokes to someone else."

"I'm glad you feel that way," Kisho said, and the three laughed and then finished eating in silence. After they'd cleaned up their plates and left the cafeteria, Kisho walked in between Lavi and Allen. "So…." He started. "Whatever that symbol is, it has something to do with Kanda, and you guys know about it." Kisho glanced up. "Am I right?"

"Yeah….but…." Allen hesitated, looking around, then said, "I didn't tell you much about what I wanted to do. I didn't even really plan it…just, when I saw you had that book, and saw what was on that page….I remembered."

"What are you two talking about?" Lavi griped. "Whatever you're planning, leave me out of it, because if Kanda knows you're trying to research about him then hell will be brought down on our heads. And I'd rather avoid that."

"What are you talking about?" Allen demanded. "You two are picking fights with him all the time." Lavi grinned and Kisho shook his head.

"What do you mean?" He demanded.

"We're all kind of on his Blacklist. So, anyway…what about that book? Lavi asked.

Allen quickly got back on track. "Kisho found a book in the Asia Branch's library with Sanskrit symbols, and one of them looked like that tattoo Kanda has. I wanted to see if there's anything I can figure out about it." Lavi eyed Allen suspiciously.

"Are you saying what I think you're saying? Are you worried about what it is, or something?" Allen didn't answer for a while.

"I guess….I don't know why I'm wondering about it. Ever since we saw it then, and he didn't answer anything about it, I guess I was just curious. And come on—is Kanda the type to go out and get a tattoo? I don't think it's just a normal one." Lavi grumbled and rubbed his head.

"You're inviting disaster," he cautioned.

"I know," Allen said, then reached a hand in his pocket, drew something out and handed it to Kisho who reached across and took it with his left hand. "So since only Kisho was caught red-handed, he can still go and ask Reever for answers." Kisho grimaced.

"I'll go now," he sighed resignedly. "I'll try and catch you later to tell you the summary." Allen nodded impatiently. "I don't know how much free time I'll have, but I'll just make time."

"Sounds great."

"I think I'll have to get used to being so polite more than anything," Kisho muttered.

"Think of everything as practice." Lavi elbowed Kisho in the side; Kisho elbowed him back. Allen handed Kisho the piece of paper he'd wisely kept hidden at the table earlier, and the Finder walked off to find the researchers' office. Lavi had told him where it was since he'd been there and quickly memorized the route, something Kisho admired and hoped he'd learn quickly, for he had a less-than-average sense of direction.


	39. Pieces

**Me: I hate that I have to use the letters h and g all the time. Those keys are sticking like crazy. Though it kind of is my fault for eating over my computer…well, that's all.**

**Kanda: You never mean that.**

**Me: Now you got it. Did anyone catch the name of that hurricane that blew through a while back? Hurricane EARL. Uh-huh. Not that the hurricane namers meant it to have anything to do with this series, but still, it's verrrry suspicious. . Just kidding.**

**I only own the characters I make up (there have been a lot of them lately…) some of the storyline plots, and that's all. Katsura Hoshino owns D. Gray Man and the whole D. Gray Man universe.  
And in the 'author's note' thing for some earlier chapters I remember calling myself 'Serasia'…sorry about that. It's my username on Youtube that I guess I got used to using.**

**Lavi: Schizophrenic….**

**Me: No I'm not. But I am wired. This chapter brought to you by Starbucks and its tasty white chocolate mochas.**

* * *

Chapter Thirty-Six - Pieces

Kisho began backtracking towards the entrance of the castle, where the reading room and library were. He passed it, kept going, and after turning right around a corner he saw the room Lavi had told him about. The thing separating him from it was a set of brown, wooden double doors. One door was open inward and a square of light was beaming out from the inside. The hallway past the door on the right was a little dark, and got darker farther down. H was glad he didn't have to go down there, because it looked foreboding and cold air was blowing towards him (but would there be open windows that deep inside a castle?), Kisho headed into the room and saw people busy at work already—or still, rather. The researchers had been working ever since arriving, only having had a brief amount of rest. They had been working night and day since then, too, and were still working diligently even though they looked on the verge of dropping off. Most had dark circles under their eyes and some would occasionally bump into a table or stagger briefly before getting back on track. Kisho felt guilty for just showing up without bringing something for them, because they looked hungry and thirsty, too. Suddenly a voice spoke behind him, addressing him quickly, then loudly and cheerfully addressing the researchers. "Kisho, watch out. I have to take this inside." Kisho obediently moved aside and watched Lenalee step into the room with a happy expression. "I brought coffee and snacks, everyone!" Work stopped at once and Lenalee had a crowd of people around her, and the female exorcist began handing coffee cups out towards them. Kisho blinked and stepped forward just as Lenalee turned towards him and asked, "Can you help me pass everything out?"

"Yes," he replied, then took a coffee mug and grimaced because he hadn't taken it by the handle. His hands burned and he quickly walked around to pass the mug off to someone. A hand reached out, wrapping their fingers around the handle and Kisho began blowing on his hands in relief.

"Just in time. Thanks a lot." Reever took a drink of the coffee, gave a satisfied sigh, and walked towards Lenalee to thank her. Kisho handed out some more coffee to the researchers that had gathered around, and when they'd gotten some, he had one cup left and looked around for anyone who didn't have coffee. Turning, he saw Johnny standing nearby. The man was rubbing his eyes and yawning, so Kisho approached him.

"Johnny," he said; the man turned, and he looked relieved when Kisho handed him the coffee cup. "Lenalee brought it." Johnny nodded. "I know she usually does, but is she one of the only ones who comes to see you?"

"Thanks….and yes, pretty much. If she didn't bring us coffee we never would have held up this long."

"You guys are always working a lot…do you ever get breaks?" Johnny drank some more coffee and sighed, lifting his shoulders in a shrug.

"Well, we can go get meals in the cafeteria, but that's about it. It's usually a short break and after that it's back to the grind." Johnny's bespectacled eyes drifted towards Lenalee, and Kisho followed his gaze. "Lenalee's trying to make it so we can have more breaks and time to sleep. Komui's hard to convince, but I believe in her. If anyone could convince him, Lenalee could. If she does then we could finally have time to go relax in the hot springs more than once a week." Johnny tapped Kisho's left shoulder to get his attention. "That reminds me—Lavi, Chaoji, Toma, Noise, Shiori, and lots of other exorcists and Finders are digging the new hot springs now. There's going to be an indoor bathhouse and an outdoor hot spring for relaxing, and a men and women's side for each of them."

"They're working on that?" Kisho asked. "Wow."

"They've been at it since eight o'clock this morning." Kisho looked at an old grandfather clock nearby; it said that it was 11:35.

"…I've only been sleeping and eating today." Johnny elbowed Kisho lightly.

"But you needed it. Well, we need it too…and we'd like it…but let me put it this way: we've gotten used to not getting much sleep. We're not out in the field like you guys." Johnny gave a wistful kind of smile.

"Well…" Kisho said, crossing his arms, "exorcists and Finders both have to deal with Akuma. Komui doesn't get upset when _they_ get destroyed." The ex-exorcist's expression was annoyed while Johnny's was slightly frantic. "But if someone destroys Koml—" Johhny's hand flew to Kisho's mouth and clamped over it, muffling whatever he'd been about to say.

"We've. Gone. Over. This. Before." Kisho's eyes were wide; he'd realized his mistake too late and was nodding his head furiously. "You never speak about that. Understand?"

"R-right, sorry…." Kisho stuttered, shaking himself. After the last horrific…..robot….incident, the researchers had tried to avoid even talking about him, and sometimes, even thinking about him. The last time _someone_ had been involved, the robot had, in just half an hour, destroyed a big chunk of the researchers' department, a small section of the training room, and finally part of the cafeteria (Allen still had a tiny grudge against Komui for that one) before being destroyed by Chaoji, Lenalee, and Noise Marie. A few exorcists, Finders, and researchers who had tried to stop the rampage (including Toma, Chaoji, Shiori, Camille, and Reever) had gotten injuries but aside from that, nothing too serious…except maybe the psychological damage. That rampage had been one of the worst and had taken place in the old Main Branch. The damage had been completely repaired a month before the move, but the bad memory still remained even when there had been no incidents...well, yet.

"Good. No one heard anything." Everyone in the room shook their heads. Lenalee shook her head once and, heaving a small sigh, glanced at Kisho with a mildly disappointed expression, and he grinned awkwardly at her.

"So," Reever said, "how are things going?"

"Great," Lenalee replied, smiling.

"Fine," Kisho also replied, walking behind Reever and Lenalee, "and…if it's not too much trouble now, I have something to ask you." Reever looked at the teenager, stopped talking to Lenalee and rubbed his head a little. Kisho shuffled his feet guiltily; Lenalee had been talking to Reever, Kisho had interrupted their conversation, and Reever wasn't likely to be done with work anytime soon. The Finder knew now that Reever and the others researched with Komui on how to make better uniforms, studied records of past exorcists, Akuma, researchers, Finders, and leaders like Komui, and any records of Innocence, especially the Heart. There had been few, if any, records of it being destroyed, and even less about a normal Innocence and a piece of the Heart merging to form an even stronger Innocence. There also was no record of Innocence transporting people anywhere, or clearing away Dark Matter without destroying someone—or if there had been records, they were now lost.

But Komui and the researchers were still searching for them, as well as a handful of Finders, like Toma. Kisho wanted to search too, to see if he could find something that explained what had happened when he'd been taken to the Noah's headquarters. Not many had believed him in the beginning—he was a newcomer, and had gone off against orders. That was what most people knew, which was why Kisho's revelation had been treated with such suspicion and regarded as insignificant. Kisho could have gotten Allen and himself killed, and he had been to the Noah's headquarters but couldn't explain where they were located. Even if it Komui wouldn't have risked sending exorcists into Noah territory, it still would have been useful to The Black Order if Kisho could have revealed the location of their enemy. But the bottom line was that now most didn't believe the given explanation of what had happened, except those who had been directly involved: Allen, Lenalee, Komui, Hevlaska, and Kisho. The researchers, mainly Johnny and Reever, had not been involved but because of Komui, Hevlaska, and Allen they believed Kisho was telling the truth about the situation…and it wasn't in their nature to be mistrusting to people they knew well.

"You have a question? What is it?" Reever glanced at Kisho with a tired but questioning expression, then looked at Lenalee and gave a grateful smile as he took a paper bag of carrot pieces and hummus from her. The pita bread was still warm, and the hummus, too. "Thank you, Lenalee. You're a big help around here." He suddenly frowned and crossed his arms. "How's your ankle doing? You shouldn't be walking on it so much."

"It isn't so bad," she said, still smiling, "the cast is helping and I can walk on it without hurting at all. It's getting better." Reever nodded approvingly.

"I'm glad to hear it." He crunched into a carrot stick, then gestured around the room. Johnny walked up and beamed at Lenalee. "It's work as usual here."

"I asked my brother if you could take a break tonight. Moving around so much has been hard on everyone, but I can tell you all need a break." Lenalee's eyes fell upon a few of the other researchers and she greeted them warmly. "Hi, Johnny," she smiled, waving a little. "How are you holding up? Do you want anything else?"

"No, thank you," Johnny replied, his coffee finished. "That hit the spot. We can work a little more now."

"I'll bring you more coffee soon," Lenalee promised, "or anything else you want. Jerry said he'd be happy to make you something."

"Thanks a lot," Johnny sniffed. "It's been crazy busy here as you can see. Even though it's a new place, we're still working just like before." Lenalee nodded once and sighed.

"A lot of the castle is starting to look much better. It'll be really nice when the bathhouse and hot springs are done. Who'd have thought there'd be underground springs around here?"

"Lucky us." Reever grinned.

"Hope we'll be able to get a long enough break to go use them, too," Johnny muttered, and Lenalee patted him on the shoulder.

"I'm going to ask my brother to let you have more break time. I'll ask him about the springs, too. I have to go now though. Hang in there, everyone. See you later!" Lenalee waved goodbye; Johnny, Reever, and everyone else waved back. Kisho handed her the coffee tray and watched her go, then faced Reever, who was walking back to where he'd been working before. The Australian man was looking a small red book about something. A bunch of chemical formulas spanned both pages, and when Reever flipped to another page, even more chemical formulas stretched were crammed on the pages. It was dizzying to look at, and Kisho wondered how Reever understood it all, even though he was the smartest person Kisho had met. Reever knew lots of science, biology, mechanics, research, and languages...and as far as Kisho knew, Reever had learned German, Spanish, Arabic, French, Chinese, Japanese, and Russian. Kisho had heard from Reever that he also knew some of the language of the aboriginal Hakka people of Taiwan, the Ainu people of Japan, and the aboriginal people of Australia, and a few different sign language variations. Kisho had been staggered, to say the least. He was having trouble just getting started with Chinese, and still some trouble with English—which Cloud Nyne had taught him. But he'd been able to pick up the language more quickly because he'd started living at The Black Order where the common language was English.

After a short while, Reever looked up, and seemed to be glad that Kisho had waited until he was done studying the formula. "Komui asked me to look at this before we moved. It's a formula for some lotion that will supposedly help people not get sunburned. I'm trying to see if it'll work….with Komui's inventions, you never know." Reever laughed. "So, what can I do you for, kiddo?" If anyone might know something about that Sanskrit symbol, Reever would. So Kisho took a deep breath.

"Do you know what this means?" He questioned curiously, taking out the folded paper from his pocket. He unfolded it and held it out to the scientist, who took it from his hand and studied it. A peculiar expression came over his face, one of wariness and concern, yet he still appeared composed. Johnny walked by, glanced over, and caught a glimpse of the paper in his friend's hand. He did a double take and almost walked into a bookshelf. Kisho stared in alarm.

"Are you okay?" He asked, moving towards Johnny, who waved his hand dismissively.

"I'm fine. What are you doing with that, Reever?" He accused, walking closer to the table. Reever looked up and gave the paper back to Kisho.

"Do you want to explain it to him?" Reever's tone wasn't impatient or scornful; it was understanding and calm. Johnny bit his lip. "I know. Don't worry." Johnny's fists clenched and he leaned over the table, but was clearly reluctant and didn't want to stay.

"Bak, Allen, and Lavi acted the same way as you did…sort of...and Kanda really wasn't happy to see it."

"Kanda saw this?" Reever rubbed his head. "It's up to him whether or not he tells you anything else, but I do know what this symbol is. It's Sanskrit, and the symbol is called 'Aum', 'Om', or 'Ohm'—with an h—depending on who's translating. It is the most important and sacred symbol in Hinduism, and it's a symbol of 'The Absolute'."

"The Absolute?" Kisho asked, frowning, not sure what that meant. Rather than asking, he began to reach for a pencil on the desk. "Could I use this?" Reever nodded and Kisho drew another symbol under the first one. It was just a dot over a closed eye shape, and the number three under that. The one above this had a question mark shape coming out of the three, and the one Kisho had drawn didn't. "What is this one? Does it mean the same thing?" Reever and Johnny peered at the symbol for a moment or two; then Reever nodded.

"It is the same symbol, but it's in Bangla script," he said. The three fell silent and didn't say anything for a minute. Finally Kisho broke the silence, deciding not to mention Allen had been wondering about what it meant too, for that wouldn't do any good. Later on Kisho would tell him everything Reever had said. But for now…

"Did I do something wrong about….bringing this all up?" He asked cautiously, not liking the nauseated look on Johnny's face or the grim look on Reever's. The two of them looked up and exchanged glances, then turned towards Kisho. Tapping the paper, Reever cleared his throat quietly.

"Normally, the symbol is sacred, and very important for the Hindu religion. The symbol is even transcribed in Chinese and Japanese, among others. But in Kanda's case….well….it symbolizes a curse." A jolt of surprise went through Kisho.

"A curse? Kanda's cursed?" _And he gave Allen a hard time. _Often the Finder had noticed that Kanda shied away from Allen; he didn't even want to brush against him when they happened to be walking past each other. And then other times the swordsman would leer towards the red star over Allen's left eye, looking repulsed. Reever shushed him sharply.

"Not so loud. But essentially….yes. You seem to have memorized it, right?" He gestured to the symbol and Kisho nodded.

"I wouldn't mention it anywhere. Remember what it looks like," Johnny suggested nervously, but was staring straight at Kisho, wanting to get how serious he was across. Kisho understood. It wasn't really any of their business, and yet, they were upset by it. But it was more their business than his…

"Okay," he said, and watched as Reever tore the small paper up into pieces and threw them away. "We need to get back to work, and Komui wants to see you. You'll be training with other Finders from now on until you can go on missions again." Johnny began fidgeting suddenly.

"Thanks for telling me about it, even though you were busy." Kisho paused. "And…sorry if I….got into something I shouldn't have." Both Reever and Johnny shook their heads.

"Don't be. But I wouldn't talk about this to anyone." The Finder nodded. "Good. Go see Komui. He wants to talk to you….and so does an official from the Vatican."

"They do?" Another jolt shot through Kisho. This must be one of the consequences Bak had told him about. He'd stepped out of line; now he was in trouble.

"I doubt anything too serious will happen…but a visit from them normally isn't pleasant. So….keep your head level, and listen carefully. Don't speak out too much and don't get angry at them. If get angry—you probably will be—try not to show it." Kisho nodded slowly, keeping his mouth shut as Reever continued. "Because you can directly find where Innocence are…well, they are interested in that. You could help turn the tides. I thought you'd want to know that. Whatever you can do, it will be used…like most of us around here. We thought you should know what was going to happen."

"Thanks. See you…later. Oh, and I'll tell Komui that that...sun lotion thing...is going well, if you want." Reever gave a half-grin.

"I wouldn't mention it. He may decide to test it on you." Reever shrugged a shoulder. "I'm thinking of telling him the formula won't work."

"Heh….alright." Kisho headed out the door.

"Good luck," Johnny said genuinely as the teenager left.

* * *

_I'm dreaming, _Shiori realized. _But I don't want to be dreaming._

She was back in her home town, before Kisho had left, so it was still standing. Shiori blinked as she spotted someone familiar—or at least he felt familiar—crouching nearby. _Who's that, _she thought, _and what's he…_

Her thought stopped abruptly. The person's hands were gripping at his chest, and his body was trembling faintly. It looked like he was in pain, but there was no sign that anything or anyone had attacked him. Then Shiori saw that a tall person was standing over the crouching one. The figure was shadowy so nothing could be told about his appearance, but he reached down swiftly and grabbed the crouched person by the front of his shirt.

_I don't like my dreams…I wish...they'd stop._

As soon as the figure grabbed the other person he yelled as an unseen force seemed to burn his hand, and a bright light flared around the two people. The taller figure automatically opened his hand, releasing his grip on the shorter person, and the glow around him abruptly blinked out. Before the shorter person hit the ground, the glow that was still pulsing around him began drawing in and fading. Then as suddenly as the light faded it flared back up again and a line of white streaked up into the air and away from the pair, as distinct as a shooting star against the night. The shorter figure, light now gone from around him, was curled up on the ground.

_I don't get this…_

The tall person glanced sharply down at the still figure, as if hesitating while he wondered what to do with him. Shiori realized she was praying that the man would leave the unconscious person alone and follow the light. He seemed to be toying with that idea anyway and soon—though not soon enough to Shiori—the tall figure jerked his head dismissively, turned, and sped off towards where the light had gone.

_Who was that? And who is this? _Shiori felt herself moving closer to the motionless body, and knelt over him. What she was doing felt too real for a dream…too real, and too familiar, like she had seen and done everything in this dream before. Her right arm reached out and Shiori squeezed the person's shoulder, shaking him gently. The dreaming exorcist heard a word next, and it was right in her ears, but it also felt like she'd opened her mouth and said it herself.

"_Kisho?" _Her hand reached towards his face and brushed his hair out of his face, and she saw who it was for the first time since she'd started dreaming. Her little brother, Kisho. He looked a little younger than he was now…two years younger. With a jolt of alarm, Shiori understood.

This dream was right before Akuma had attacked her home the first time….and right before…

Shiori gathered Kisho up in her arms and struggled to lift him and run towards their house. _"What were you doing out here?" _She heard herself gasp. _"What happened to you?"_ Shiori heard a scream as a house directly to her left was obliterated by a powerful force. She knew it was her screaming, and she felt her arms hugging Kisho tightly as she ran past it as fast as she could. Some time later she ran into their house. She collapsed next to their bedrolls and dropped Kisho onto his, then darted to the window, trying to see the other house that had been hit. It was burning and Shiori felt like she was seeing a nightmare now, but this was what had actually happened all those years ago. Bright lights from the fire were hurting her eyes…but something was glowing brighter than the leaping flames now…and it was coming right for her house. She had just barely started turning so she could grab Kisho and scream for her mother to get out of the house, but the light was suddenly all around her. Shiori's body started burning, and then a numb, tingling sensation spread through her and she blacked out…then woke up.

* * *

Toma glanced over at Shiori, his eyes showing he was wondering what was going through her mind. The exorcist was in the form of a wolf now, and was also busily digging away a few feet away from him. She was radiating a very antisocial air that seemed to repel anyone who got near her; if someone did wander too close, they'd look up suddenly as if startled and walk a wide path around Shiori. The impression that Toma got was that she'd woken up on the wrong side of the bed because she had been behaving this way for a long time. Everyone outside now was behind the castle helping dig the pools for the bathhouse that would go out here. When the pools were done walls and barriers separating the men's and women's sides would be constructed.

Presently several other Finders, including Toma, and exorcists were digging: Emile, Camille, Lavi, Chaoji, Lenalee, and Allen. Chaoji was digging up huge piles up dirt with a large shovel. Lavi was using his Anti-Akuma Weapon like a shovel, Allen was using his broadsword to dig out huge piles of earth, and Lenalee was kicking those piles of dirt away with her activated Dark Boots, and the two Finders were using normal shovels. Lavi swung his hammer and made a huge hole in the ground, then with barely a flick of his wrist he sent the pile of dirt flying. He froze as he watched the dirt pile's path: it flew through the air and landed on Allen, burying him. Lavi watched Emile, who was nearby, look up in alarm and move to start digging him out when he heard muffled shouts for help. Shiori had also been watching and she ran over and started digging at the heap of dirt quickly. Lavi was flustered for a moment more, but when he saw Allen being pulled out of the dirt pile, he busily went back to digging (a little more carefully than before), hoping no one had noticed where the dirt had come from.

Toma wiped sweat from his forehead and took a slight breather, then glanced up at the sky. It was still cloudy and fairly cool out, thanks to the power of Lavi's Innocence—he'd used the powers to block the sun so no one would get sunburned or too hot. A few days ago, the area for the springs had been mapped out, and work on a precursor to a dividing wall between the men's and women's bath had begun. But now the priority was digging the pools deep enough, starting with the main one, and then two medium-sized ones, and one small one. The largest pool would be twenty feet wide and fifty feet long, probably about eight to nine feet deep, while the others would be ten feet wide and eighteen feet long, and the smallest would probably only have room for about five people at a time….eight if they didn't mind being crowded together. The whole project would probably take quite a few weeks to a month and a half to complete.

Toma's eyes drifted to Shiori as she trotted back from digging Allen out and he leaned on the handle of the shovel he was using. She was digging as busily as everyone, but instead of appearing to enjoy it or treating it as a challenge, she seemed to be using the digging as a way to vent her feelings. She seemed frustrated, angry, and worn-out—though she didn't really look tired from of all the work she'd done so far. The hole everyone was working on was about three feet deep so far, and a quarter of the depth it would be when finished. Toma began digging his way over towards her, and a short time later, he was digging right next to her. The Finder said her name a few times, but she didn't respond. He got a small shovelful of dirt and tipped it over her head, causing her ears to lift and body to go rigid. Then she began shaking her body, sending clumps of dirt everywhere. Toma began digging again when he'd gotten her attention, and slowly Shiori did the same.

"I suppose it's not much use if I ask you what's wrong," he said. "Because I wouldn't be able to hear you." He heard the wolf breathe out a sigh through her nose. "But I think I can guess that you're mad at someone." He heard a snort this time, but Toma ignored it and kept talking. "You're angry at your brother, but the main person you're angry with is…." Shiori didn't do anything except keep digging. "…him. Am I wrong?" He prompted softly, and the wolf's ears lifted and a soft growl was heard. "I thought so. And it's good that you know who's really at fault." He paused to toss the shovelful of dirt over his shoulder, then resumed digging. "Both of them did something that is considered a sin, but I don't think I need to tell you which of their actions was worse. Everyone here has lost something or someone because of Akuma, the Noah, and the Earl. The ones who have merely lost their homes count themselves fortunate." Glancing sideways at Shiori, he took a breath and sighed.

"It's hard to hear, but when it comes down to it, this is nothing new, Shady." Shiori and Toma looked around to see Lavi digging his way towards them. "We can try to make people feel better as much as we want, but why should we gloss things over? Whether you want to see it or not, reality will bite you sooner or later." He glanced at the sky which had started to get cloudy, partially shielding the diggers from the baking sun. "Might as well get it over with sooner, if you know what I mean."

_You're telling me to let it go and forgive him?_

"The Earl?" Lavi asked, even though he knew Shiori had meant Kisho. He spoke with deadly seriousness. "No. The Earl has a major ass-kicking headed his way. But I think you should let Kikun off the hook before things get too out of hand." Lavi's one green eye looked sharply towards Shiori and she looked back, a little startled. "He is still just a kid." Shiori cowered a little and her paws faltered and stopped digging the hole she was working on.

_You saw me then, I guess…trying to avoid him._ Lavi nodded his head once.

"I see everything," he said, and winked, grinning.

…_Creepy._

"Yeah, well, so are you," Lavi said, laughing again. Shiori walked across the hole and sat down, looking at her paws as she mentally spoke to Lavi.

…_.I think what both of you said was what I needed to hear. You're right._ She lowered her head. _Even if it's hard, I think I'll be glad that you didn't try to go easy on me. _Moving around to face Toma, Shiori wagged her tail at him. He understood her silent thanks and smiled. He didn't have the white bandages on his face like when he was on missions, so his mouth was visible. There were two healed slash marks across his face—two on each cheek, and one on his forehead. They were white scars, and the ones by his mouth stretched when he smiled, and the one on his forehead was a more recent one that had been healed for a while but was still reddish-pink. He didn't look as bad as Shiori, who looked like someone had attacked her with a straight razor...a huge one. The places where she'd gotten attacked by the flying Akuma had closed up but no fur had grown back yet. Shiori had just stared at herself, startled, in her bathroom mirror after the bandages were taken off. She just looked weird. But it probably didn't matter, since she was still alive. She could live with a bad haircut. Still, though, the exorcist was constantly hoping that her fur would grow back soon.

Shiori paused in her digging and started to walk off suddenly without any explanation. She jumped when Lavi grabbed her by the collar. So much for no one paying attention to her as she tried to sneak away.

"We have to keep digging for a while. What's up with you?" He tightened his grip on her collar so she wouldn't dart out of his grip. "Is it important?"

_It is! _Shiori snapped. _I have to go to the bathroom._

"Oh, that's all." Lavi saw that Shiori had been heading back towards the castle, but he gestured in an offhand way towards the thick trees that surrounded them. "Just go there and run back. We won't mind."

_Hahah, yeah, I don't think so._

"I'm pretty sure girl dogs can lift their legs too," Lavi said with a mischevious grin. Shiori and Toma stared at him; Shiori was slightly open mouthed and Toma's forehead was furrowed uncomfortably. "She has to go to the bathroom," the redhead explained to him, "and I told her to—"

_That's marking territory. And I don't do that._

"That's alright, I understand," the Finder said quickly.

_I won't take long. Just give me ten minutes._

"Wash your hands!" Lavi called cheerfully as the wolf moved away at a lope. Several exorcists and Finders digging looked up in surprise; others just pretended they hadn't heard. "I mean, your paws!"

_Be quiet, you stupid backwards carrot! _Shiori kicked her back legs, showering him with dirt and pebbles. Lavi ducked his head, then brushed himself off and chuckled. As Lavi yelled one last taunt towards Shiori, Toma rolled his eyes, a few people looked around awkwardly, while others smirked and laughed.

"And if you're thirsty, drink out of the toilet before you use it!"

* * *

**Lenalee: That is just…gross.**

**Me: Oh, it is.**

**Lavi: But pretty funny, right?**

**Allen: No.**

**Me: My family's dog, Lucky, drinks out of the toilet all the time.**

**Lavi: It's probably not good for him….**

**Me: I'll go shut the door and make sure his water bowl's full.**

**Camille: Please don't talk about it anymore.**

**Me: Well, thanks for reading! And wow, Komui is on the verge of inventing sunscreen! I don't know when it was really invented, or by who, but I'm going to look it up. In this story though, it's Komui, and he's going to give it a test run once Reever gives it the OK. :)**

**I did write a "Komurin rampage" chapter but decided not to upload it. I felt like having people mentioning and then still reacting to the rampage even after it all happened was a little funnier, somehow. And it was Kisho's fault—not just because he said Komurin's name, either. It isn't a complete Lord Voldemort situation here. Voldemort, Voldemort, oh, Voldy Voldy Voldy Voldemort (Potter Puppet Pals). Heheh. Maybe if there's another Komurin rampage (there probably will be, since Komui just can't help himself) I'll make the characters bring up more about what happened in that one...**

**Soon, probably around Chapter 40, some big things will happen…they may be new and weird because I'm making them up too, but aside from that I guess the story will just be continuing like (relatively) normal.**


	40. Rift

**I know there's been lots of emphasis on Shiori and Kisho with the way I've been writing, but I do want to include Allen and the others in the story without focusing too much on Shiori and Kisho because I like them as much as my own characters and because I'd get bored just talking about my OC's all the time (and some of you might too). I leave Shiori and Kisho behind sometimes and focus on Allen and Company, and give them their own stories, missions, events, and power-ups (haha) or I hope I do and will at least. Well, thank you for reading up to this point and thanks for putting up with a some inconsistencies I know are in the story. I hope you enjoy the future chapters! I think I know more of what I'm doing now; when I started writing this I was pretty much an amateur but I feel like I've gotten somewhat better and so I feel that the upcoming chapters will be more solid.**

**I don't own D. Gray Man, its characters, or their names, or abilities (I guess except the ones I make up), but I own my OC's and that's all. Thanks Hoshino Natsumi for coming up with D. Gray Man at all because I've been writing this for a few years and gotten slowly better at writing, I think. It's also fun to read all the other D. Gray Man stories people write. Peace! \/(^0^)**

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Chapter 37 - Rift

Shiori curled a paw under her body, trying to wipe the dirt off of it. She couldn't reach very well though so she flopped down on her back and rolled around while she tried to get it off. Shiori rubbed her front paws on her stomach and scratched her back paws on the area below her ribs and got some more dirt off. Standing up, she rubbed a paw on the floor. She could just wash herself off later after she was done working for the day. A little dirt wouldn't make her look too dirty or smell too bad. Satisfied that she wouldn't track dirt everywhere, Shiori headed up to her room, then a few minutes later she wiped her paws and went back downstairs. Almost slipping on the stairs, the wolf got her balance and looked back; a line of wet paw prints came from her room and stopped where she was now. Growling, Shiori carefully went back up the stairs and into her bathroom again. She spent another minute scuffing her paws on the fluffy bathmat and finally her paws were dry. On the way out this time, Shiori put her shoulder to the floor and used her back paws to push herself along, using her fur as a towel to mop up her wet prints. Looking up she let out a breath. Now no one would slip and break their neck on the stairs. A funny sound, like quiet chuckling, made her turn. Krory was looking at her with a puzzled but amused expression on his face. She stared at him and he stared back, then Shiori lowered her ears and slowly wagged her tail. Then she turned and padded down the stairs, feeling a little humiliated. Just as she was about to head back outside she stopped when she heard a familiar voice.

"….that I ran into one of those damn pillars."

"It should go away in a week or so." There was silence, and then she heard Komui ask, "Are you…."

"I'm fine…you and Reever told me to watch out, anyway." Another pause followed but was broken almost immediately by Kisho speaking again. "Thanks for the ice."

Shiori turned the corner sharply and looked at the two people standing outside of Komui's office. Before she had seen them, she'd immediately known it was Kisho and Komui by their voices, and remembering Lavi's words, she ran up to them. They heard her paws clicking on the floor and turned to face her. Kisho's face lit up briefly before it faded into a hesitant smile, while Komui inclined his head and gave Shiori the usual friendly look that he gave everyone. Shiori wagged her tail, then opened her mouth, showing her teeth in an attempt at a smile. When she looked at Kisho her tail stopped moving. All around his left eye and partly down the side of his face was a purple, red, and black bruise, and the area was swelling up, too, causing the eye to squint halfway shut. _Wha…that's awful. _For a moment she just stared at it his face in shock. He had a black eye. Granted, it wasn't nearly bad as the other injuries everyone had gotten but it was more alarming for some reason. Shiori whined in concern, stepping forward and looking straight at the bruise. She would have thought he'd gotten in a fight with someone had he not just said he'd run into something. Kisho must have really not been paying attention and really rammed himself into that pillar he'd been talking about.

"Yeah, I know..." Kisho fingered the area around his eye and shrugged his shoulders once. "It looks worse than it feels." He grinned, though it looked a tiny bit forced to Shiori, and she felt a little doubtful. Komui let out a sigh through his nose and looked at the floor, then back at the exorcist.

"How's the digging coming along?" He asked, and Shiori, still staring at Kisho, absently nodded once. "I have some work I need to do now, but I'll come and check in an hour or so, and then you can take a break for today. You've all done an excellent job so far. Tomorrow, you'll all be working a little less at digging, since more of you will be going on missions. Six Innocence signals have been picked up, and tomorrow is the latest we should go if we have a chance at recovering them. Some of them could be Heart fragments and we can't afford to lose any of them." Shiori just nodded again, then turned to leave. She couldn't talk to Kisho, since she'd never bitten him, and didn't know if it would work. She looked back; Komui was walking into his office and Shiori heard the click of something, probably a phone. Kisho stared at her, and she stared back. Neither of them talked for a minute. Then they both walked away from Komui's office and stopped in a hallway close to the staircase that led to the dorms.

"Shiori," Kisho said quietly, kneeling in front of her. He slid his arms around her furry neck. "I'm sorry I kept what happened to mom from you. Or _how_ it happened….I know it wasn't right. It's an excuse, but I just wanted to try and find the right time, and say it the right way….I wanted to give you the present before your birthday and tell you then….it was mean, I know, to tell you something like that so close to it but….mom did tell me to give it to you if anything happened, Shiori, and I did. I just….didn't know what to say until then, or how to say it. I was still getting over it….that's even worse than an excuse because we should have gotten through it at the same time. We are family and should have dealt with losing her together." Kisho looked Shiori closely in the eyes, and Shiori felt taken aback; they were hard, but at the same time, apologetic and sad. "If you don't forgive me, that's fine. You don't have to."

He wanted her to forgive him but wasn't going to try and make her. Still uncomfortable after the fiasco between them before, she scuffed her paws on the ground and didn't meet Kisho's eyes.

"So…you're a wolf again."

_Um, yes. For now. Well, I...have to go back to work. But I'll…talk to you later._ Kisho nodded, glad she was at least speaking to him….relatively normally. He was glad he could still hear her thinking; apparently, the link they had hadn't changed. If he hadn't been able to hear her, though, the most she'd have had to do would be to bite him, and the Innocence in his blood probably would react to her Innocence. But because she still seemed angry, he was glad that she didn't have to bite him, because she would probably really go for it.

"Alright. See you later. If you want help with your Innocence anytime, I could try and help." Shiori looked back at him harshly and he exhaled sharply through his nose, looking vaguely uncomfortable. "I guess the others would be a better choice. But still. If you need help anytime, let me know." A little snort was the response he got, and he watched with clenched teeth and a worried expression as she trotted around a corner out of sight.

* * *

_A woman in a white buttoned shirt and a black skirt removed her hands from her tear-streaked faced and, reaching__ up with a trembling arm, took a round silver object from a man that stood over her with a dark expression. His skin was grey and black crosses were lined up on his forehead. "What's this?" The woman ran her fingers over the object and felt raised ridges on its surface, ridges that came outward from a small round bump in the middle. Her eyes had adjusted to the darkness of the night and she noticed it looked like a large, intricate button for a coat. She examined the front of it for another minute, then turned it over, and when she made out the name on it she felt a jolt run through her. The name on the flat surface of the button was the name of her son. If the button hadn't been covered with blood, she would have been relieved to see it, because it meant he was alive. Looking up at the man, she gave him a piercing glare._

"_What?" The man asked, giving her a bored stare. "Take a picture; it will last longer."_

"_What happened to him? What did you do to him?"_

"_Me?" The man replied, holding a hand to his chest and sounding innocently surprised. When the woman stood up angrily and made a violent gesture towards him, he sighed. "Nothing you didn't. And you know by this time that I don't leave exorcists alive after I find them." The woman gave a slight gasp but it was ignored. "A general found him and trained him, and he got a few years off, but that didn't matter in the end."_

"_You killed him! You said you wouldn't! You said you'd leave him alone if I cooperated with you!"_

"_Well," sighed the man again, "plans change, I suppose. He was becoming too detrimental to our cause."_

_Clutching the button tightly, the woman shut her eyes, her body beginning to shake uncontrollably. Then she covered her eyes with her hands and began to sob. "I didn't know what was wrong with him…I didn't know why he was like that…people thought he was a freak…" The woman looked up. "I wanted to find out why he was like that, and I did…it was because of Innocence."_

"_Hm….The Black Order used him instead of abandoning him. It was probably for the best, even if things turned out this way." Looking scornfully down at the woman, the gray-skinned man smirked sinisterly. "Aren't mothers supposed to love their children?" There was no reply. "The Earl would offer to bring your family and friends back, you know," he said sarcastically. Despite the tears streaming down her face, the woman felt a strong pulse of fury._

_"You know I know that doesn't work," she spat angrily, but the man just smirked. "And you don't really care." She covered her face with her hands and sobbed. "Like you would!" The man's mouth turned down in a frown as he heard the stress on the word "you"._

_"Because I'm a Noah?" He asked quietly._

_"Yes. You don't understand anything about having people you care about!" The man narrowed his eyes; then he lifted his hands and shrugged._

_"And you proclaim to care about others? After you abandoned your own son?" The woman didn't reply; then her face became furious again._

_"When I found out he was an exorcist, I came to the Earl, and he swore to me that none of you would touch him!" She repeated her previous words accusingly. _

_"We follow his orders, but even the Earl agreed that plans change. We didn't make you believe us." The Noah shrugged and cast a deadly glance down towards the woman. "And here's the deal. We don't need you—quite honestly, Brokers are incredibly expendable—but you _do_ help us with our goal. You can either come back, or I'll kill you right now. We might forgive you."_

_'If I die...' the woman thought, 'could I see my boy again…and tell him that I'm sorry for abandoning him…?' She hesitated; something told her she couldn't. And even after denying responsibility for the deaths of countless people, she now wanted to live with the guilt of what she'd done. Was it because it now involved someone she knew? 'How terrible I am,' the Broker thought._

_"I'll….come back."_

_The Noah's frown transformed back into a grin. "Good choice."_

_

* * *

_

"Little guy!" Lavi stopped Kisho in the hall outside the dormitories one day, and Kisho noticed that for some reason Lavi was standing outside of Shiori's room. "Does she always sleep in this late?"

"Yes…" Kisho said slowly, then guessed what must be going on, and half-smiled. "Good luck." He began to walk away, but Lavi grabbed his shirt collar and dragged him back.

"Where do you think you're going? Help me drag her furry butt out of bed." Kisho sighed and turned when Lavi let go of him.

"Why do you need me?" He asked, then stretched his arms and yawned. "Can't you just break or burn her door down?"

"I don't want to wake anyone else up, and I don't want to barge in there." Lavi frowned thoughtfully. "Plus it would take a while to repair all the damage." Kisho stepped up to his sister's door, raised his left arm, and knocked twice.

"Shiori, time to get up," he called softly, but knew that she would still be able to hear him.

"It is?" A tired murmur came from inside the room after a moment.

"She's a human now?" Lavi asked. _Her Innocence really must change her whenever it wants._

"Yes. Come on." After listening to a few seconds of grumbling, Shiori responded to the prompt.

"Fine…I'm getting up."

"It's that easy?" Lavi asked with an annoyed tone. "I knocked three times and she didn't answer. I was about to leave and get Lenalee to go get her when you showed up." Kisho nodded once and stepped away from the door.

"Yeah. She's usually so drowsy when she wakes up that she just does whatever she hears if she knows who's talking to her."

"Sounds like someone else around here." Lavi nudged Kisho in the side.

"Yeah, yeah."

"It's good to know you won't start taking orders from enemies when you get all trancelike." A peculiar sensation came over Kisho; it felt like an ominous version of déjà-vu. But he ignored it and continued.

"I can tell the difference between enemies and allies, even when I'm like that." Lavi nodded, and inwardly Kisho winced. So he hoped. The issue had never come up. He was just like an obedient mind slave for all he knew, and would do anything anyone told him—friend or foe. But if it was an enemy telling him something...then the Innocence would know, wouldn't it? Kisho was trying to get the whole thing sorted out on his own—was trying to willingly get into the trance state and control what he did while still being able to find Innocence—but couldn't tell if he was getting anywhere.

"Good." Kisho stifled an uneasy laugh, then went back to the previous subject.

"If Shiori didn't wake up even after I tried to a few times, I'd put a spider in her bed. After a while I didn't do it anymore..." Kisho scowled. "...And some idiot in the neighborhood who liked Shiori made me stop when she mentioned it to him...but after that, whenever I said she had to get up, she would so I wouldn't put something in her bed again." Raising an eyebrow, Lavi looked down at Kisho with an amused expression.

"What about you?"

"I can't sleep in. I usually wake up early on my own when the sun comes up." He shrugged. "I sleep in later in the winter sometimes, but not too much later." Lavi grunted, and suddenly the door opened to reveal Shiori standing there rubbing her eyes. She had a mid-length black jacket with gray stripes on the sleeves, a dark gray shirt underneath, and standard black uniform pants. She also had her black and silver striped collar on, and it hung loosely around her neck. Rubbing her eyes sleepily she yawned widely and then clapped a hand over her mouth.

"Sorry, sorry…" she mumbled, looking ashamed, "hang on a minute, I'm going to brush my teeth…you don't have to wait."

"I can't stay anyway," Kisho said. "I have to go back to training." Shiori looked at him curiously.

"What are you doing?"

"I'm still learning knife defense; I probably will be for a while until I can learn to use them without messing things up."

"Who was teaching you?" Lavi asked.

"Emile's is, but I think he and Toma are both going to teach me how to use knives. Camille will be giving me medical training, and Toma will be teaching me navigation and…." Lavi held up a hand and Shiori gave a half-smile, half-grimace.

"Got it. Well, have fun with that." Lavi shrugged. "You'll get the hang of it sooner or later."

"Sorry I can't stay," Kisho told Shiori, who shook her head and waved a hand.

"Oh, it's okay. I'll just see you later, at lunch or dinner sometime." Smiling awkwardly she gave a little wave. "Can you train with your arm like that?"

"If someone attacked me, I'd probably have to just deal with it." Kisho lifted his right arm up and moved his fingers slightly. "It's better now that it's out of the sling. I can do some things with it." He glanced briefly down at his right arm, then up again. "What are you going to do?" Kisho questioned, looking from Shiori to Lavi. "You came to get her for something?" Lavi nodded.

"Fuzzy's going to train to learn how to activate her Innocence as a human." Kisho gave Shiori a puzzled look when she gave a frustrated-sounding remark.

"It's been a week, and I've been trying. Nothing's been working so far. Either nothing happens or I change into a wolf." She scuffed her black shoes across the floor a few times. "I was upset the first time I got it to do something…" Shiori looked guiltily at Kisho. "But I can't get mad at you each time I need to activate it."

"I….well…." Kisho began, also looking uncomfortable, "I have a break after the knife defense lesson….I can come help you try to activate it. I know you'll be able to do it soon."

"And you just started working with it," Lavi pointed out. "So I wouldn't worry that nothing's happened yet."

"Well, alright…." Shiori agreed reluctantly. "Kisho, did you say that just to make me not mad at you?"

"Um…." Kisho stalled. Had he?

"Don't worry, I'm not mad." Shiori smiled slightly at him and Kisho paused, then waved halfheartedly. Lavi suddenly moved closer to Shiori. She looked up at him with a guarded expression. In a quick movement Lavi curled his fingers around Shiori's collar and gave a sharp tug.

"Krory is waiting in the training arena."

"Waiting?" Shiori asked, puzzled, but a little spark of unease made her want to go somewhere else, though she couldn't since Lavi was holding her collar tightly.

"Yep. You're supposed to train with him. Since—according to Komui—both of you guys seem to have a type of Innocence that controls your instincts, Komui thought it would be a good match-up."

"Instincts….?" Shiori crossed her arms and clenched her teeth. "I don't want us to rip each other apart."

"Oh, that won't happen," Lavi said cheerily, "if you can figure out a way to activate your Innocence. If you can't, then get ready for a lot of dodging. Or tell us what you want your epitaph to say."

"Wait! Let go!" Shiori snapped angrily as she was forced to move her feet and walk when the redhead started dragging her by her collar. Kisho ran up beside them, smiling in a half-encouraging, half-apologetic way. "You knew about this!" She barked crossly.

"I knew someone would be training with you; I didn't know who." Kisho ducked under her clenched fist as she swung it at him. "You'll be able to handle it! You could always run fast and you have good reaction time."

"That's easy for you to say! Go to your knife class and get stabbed!"

"Later, Kikun!" Lavi called to Kisho as they went their separate ways.

"You're going to coach us?" Shiori exclaimed, louder than she'd meant to. "Why haven't you gone back to the Asia Branch, you—" Hyun-Ae held a finger to Shiori's mouth; she looked angry and raised her hand to slap it away, but the Korean exorcist removed it before she could.

"Why haven't I?" Hyun-Ae asked, raising her eyebrows. "Why haven't _you_? Are you afraid people will laugh at you for going to the Europe Branch instead of the Asia Branch?" Shiori clenched her fists and looked on the verge of swinging them at her. And this didn't go unnoticed; Krory looked like he was wondering whether to step in between them and prevent a fight but at the same time he wasn't that eager to get involved.

"Uh-uh-uh. You're fighting Arystar today." Hyun-Ae's eyes narrowed to slits. "Now get moving and I don't want to tell you again!" So shortly afterward, the two exorcists had started fighting. It had been difficult to get the fight going. When there weren't any Akuma around, it was hard for Krory's gentle personality to change into a more aggressive one. He wouldn't start fights unless someone else did. Shiori had realized she had hidden rage issues and liked the idea of fighting with someone but still wouldn't initiate a fight without a good reason. So for a minute Krory and Shiori had stared awkwardly at each other, and then uneasy grins had appeared on their faces.

"So….how do you want to….start?" Shiori asked, scuffing her shoes on the floor.

"Well…." Krory said, pondering. "Let's activate our Innocence and work from there."

"Good idea," Shiori agreed, lifting her right hand and clenching it lightly, focusing on it and trying to activate the armguard and claws like last time, but without losing her temper. Hyun-Ae saw a chance and took it; she quickly stepped forward and with a firm shove to Shiori's back sent her sprawling towards Krory. Her fist was still upraised and by pure accident she punched him right in the face. Hyun-Ae quickly retreated, leaving Shiori to first yell at her, then gasp and start apologizing to Krory, who was rubbing his face. He looked surprised but not angry.

"Nice hit, Kimura! And Krory's a senior exorcist? Even a rookie got a hit in!" Shiori didn't think that would do it, but somehow, it did. Maybe just the fact that it appeared that she'd hit him on purpose, but whatever the reason, Krory's gaze had darkened and in seconds he was lunging for Shiori. Hyun-Ae watched in grim amusement and a few minutes later began yelling out commentary.

"I don't care if your blood makes him choke! Even if you can get the upper hand afterwards, don't give him a chance to get a hold on you! Not everyone's going to try and bite you—or if they do, your throat will be ripped out!" Hyun-Ae abruptly turned her criticisms on Krory. "Why did you bite her when you knew her blood tastes bad?" Krory didn't answer; he was still busy spitting to get the taste of Innocence-filled blood out of his mouth. "And another thing, Shiori! Why aren't you trying to do something with your Innocence? It's activated, I know, good for you! But you're really doing a half-assed job of this!"

"What are you talking about?" Shiori snarled, her voice sounding a little louder because of her Innocence that was shining green in her throat. "Not that you could tell, but I'm trying to do something, but it won't move!"

"You can't always have time to change forms, and from what I've heard, your Innocence decides what form you're in, not you!" Hyun-Ae hollered. "So don't wait around for something predictable to happen, because by the time it does, you're probably dead!" Shiori wanted to answer, but didn't, because Krory had recovered and was coming for her again. She sprang out of the way of his lunge, and jabbed out an arm at his mouth, willing her Innocence to change into that wrist-armguard like before. Her arm burned hot suddenly but nothing happened. Krory grabbed her arm, and Shiori expected him to break it or bite it in half, but he just lifted her easily into the air, then slammed her down into the floor. The breath left her lungs in a rush and she lay stunned, staring at the ceiling while bright sparks flashed in her eyes. Then Krory was leaning over her and his hands went around her throat. Shiori felt herself being lifted and her comrade's grip tightened on her throat.

_Oh, shoot muffins._

Krory tossed Shiori across the room and she managed to right herself in midair and kick off of the wall before smashing painfully into it. She began to charge across the room towards him, but he was already in front of her, and punched her across the left side of her face, snapping her head to the right and knocking her to the ground.

_I almost hurt Kisho. _Even though she was trying to concentrate on fighting, Shiori felt a powerful sweep of guilt and shock come over her. _I could have really hurt him. Maybe that's why it's not responding._

Krory was lifting her easily again by the shirt.

_I was a…well…bitch. That's so…right for me now. _Shiori caught a glimpse of Hyun-Ae crossing her arms and smirking in anticipation. Shiori clenched her teeth and felt a flash of rage. Then she dimly though of something.

_Or did that happen so I would try and have more control?_

Krory lunged towards her, teeth bared. Shiori ducked her head and covered her face with her arms, then shot back up and kicked a foot towards Krory, but he ducked and then grabbed her leg. Then he tossed her over his head and her body slammed into the ground, but she was picked up again with Krory's hands around her neck. Shiori lifted her arms and covered her face.

_I'll use my power the right way….. _Shiori began struggling in Krory's grip. _And I don't want to die in training!_

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**Well, there's part one of chapter 37. That's all for now, until maybe tomorrow or the next day. I might start updating more frequently, depending on some things, but I need to break up a bunch of the chapters I already have since I just type for a long time usually and don't make chapter breaks. It's kind of a bad habit.**

**Thanks for reading, and Happy Halloween to those of you who celebrate it!**  
**I do, I just haven't in years and years because no Trick-Or-Treaters come up to where I live so I forget. I do have a Grim Reaper costume that I've been itching to wear for Halloween though.**


	41. Rift Pt 2

**D. Gray Man belongs to Hoshino Natsumi! I told my mom I was working on writing a story one day and she said, "Oh, you could publish it", and I was like "Err, no, I couldn't. I'd be plagiarizing if I tried publishing it." And all of my English and Philosophy teachers would be very disappointed in me, as if I wouldn't be disappointed in myself, though. xD Yeah, I am not good enough yet to make up my own completely original story so I stick with doing Fanfictions for now. I want to actually be an editor someday. That would be awesome.**

**Enjoy! On with the show!**

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**Chapter 37 – Rift Part Two**

Shiori braced herself for Krory's abundant fangs to sink into her skin, but she heard a heavy thud and felt a strong vibration run through her arms all the way to her shoulders.

"OUCH!" Both of the exorcists screeched. Lowering her arms Shiori saw Krory's jaws struggling to bite into a green transparent shield across her forearms. It went from the crook of her arms to her hands, and like before, instead of hands she had humanoid paws with glowing nails about two feet long coming out of them. Slowly Krory opened his jaws and winced, and Shiori landed on her feet, then managed a wobbly jump away from him.

"Looks like we got somewhere," Hyun-Ae smirked, crossing her arms. Suddenly, though, Shiori's Innocence deactivated and she slumped to the ground. Krory made a move towards her but he, too, sank to his knees a moment later. "Guess you guys should take a break. You were fighting for a pretty long time. Phew." _What do you mean, 'phew'? _Shiori thought irritably, rubbing her mouth. _You were just watching and yelling at us. _"It's twelve O'clock now and you started around nine. Go to the cafeteria and get something to eat. Then you can try to do that again after lunch, Shiori. Good job, you two." Stumbling slightly to their feet, Krory and Shiori paused while Hyun-Ae gave them quick medical treatment (an ice pack for Krory's mouth and bandages for Shiori's throat).

Then the two of them walked in a slight daze out of the training room and made their way to the cafeteria. Hyun-Ae followed them in silence and walked into the dining area after them. Krory ordered vegetable stew with fish, a glass of water, and a few soft potato rolls. He still was wincing slightly and Hyun-Ae knew his mouth would be pretty sore even if his teeth and jaws were strong enough to stand a lot of pressure. Shiori got what looked like hot soup with chicken, shrimp, and chestnuts. Her throat would probably hurt for a while, but they'd both get over those injuries. They had all seen far worse, anyway, the Korean woman thought with a shrug.

Hyun-Ae didn't get anything to eat and walked to Shiori's right as they located a table. Allen, Miranda, and Camille were sitting at it. Then things happened so quickly that Hyun-Ae didn't know what had happened for a second. Camille and Shiori gasped simultaneously, clapped their hands over their mouths, and ran for all it was worth out of the cafeteria. Kisho entered as they were running out and had to jump swiftly out of the way. He shouted, startled, as he saw who they were. He sprinted after them and saw them going into a door. He moved closer and saw that it was the door to the women's bathrooms. There had been bathrooms in the castle already but to make them look nicer and cleaner, they'd been renovated. If Komui's robot inventions didn't always go crazy, then they would have been great help in fixing up the new Black Order, but you took what you could get. When Kisho saw where Camille and Shiori had gone he ran towards the door and was about to throw it open, forgetting in his worry that he shouldn't go in. Kisho jumped, startled, and a shock went through his body when someone harshly called his name.

"The mens' room is over there! What do you think you're doing?" Kisho spun around to see Chaoji with his arms crossed, glaring disapprovingly at him.

"This isn't what it looks like!" He blurted, and Chaoji's eyes narrowed.

"Like that isn't the most used line in the book." He stepped towards Kisho. "Get away from there."

"I mean it! Shiori and Camille just ran inside."

"Then you should leave them alone." Chaoji exclaimed, astonished, his eyebrows lifting. "That's usually how it goes." Kisho waved his un-bandaged arm furiously as Chaoji looked like he was going to drag him away from the door.

"Wait, but…but…but Camille and Shiori…they looked like they were sick. I just wanted to check on them, I swear." Chaoji's mistrustful expression lifted into a concerned one.

"I'll go get Matron," he said, turning sharply and running back down the hall he'd come from, leaving Kisho standing anxiously outside of the bathroom, hoping that they were alright. What was wrong with them? Thinking back to what had happened, it seemed like they had gotten sick suddenly for some reason. Maybe they'd been sick and no one had known, or something had been in the cafeteria that made them feel sick. Glaring down the hall, Kisho saw that it was empty. He still wanted to run inside and check on them despite the difference of his sex, and had just stepped forward towards the door when Emile and Miranda ran around the corner, looking worried as they stopped in front of Kisho. He stepped back hastily and walked towards them.

"What happened?" Emile asked urgently, and the Finder explained what had happened and where Shiori and Camille were.

"I want to see if they're alright." Miranda shook her head sternly at Kisho but squeezed his shoulder understandingly.

"No, you stay out here. I'll go in and see if they're alright." Emile and Kisho nodded their thanks and the female exorcist disappeared through the door. In the second that the door had swung open, they heard the sounds of coughing coming from inside. Kisho's stomach tightened with sympathy.

"Chaoji went to get Matron," he said suddenly. Looking up at Emile, Kisho noticed that the older male seemed unusually restless as he stared at the door to the women's bathroom. Emile was very collected and hard to upset, even in a serious situation. "What's the matter?"

"Just wondering what's wrong," he replied, chewing his lip and holding his arms. Kisho nodded.

"Me too. I hope Matron comes soon." Just as he said that, Chaoji and the doctor appeared running down the hall and when Matron ran into the bathroom Chaoji remained outside with the other two males.

"Thanks, Chaoji!" Emile said gratefully with a relieved sigh. He nodded and rubbed his head, half-smiling.

"Don't worry about it." He looked at the door. "Matron said there's just a small bug going around and that maybe they have it."

"That's not good," Chaoji murmured sympathetically. Emile looked more worried than ever; Chaoji noticed and tried to reassure him.

"Matron told me that even if they did have a bug, if they rested for a day or so, they'd recover quickly." Emile nodded and leaned against the wall, while Kisho just stood in the hall next to Chaoji, staring at the floor and hoping that they'd find out what was wrong soon. A few minutes later Matron, Camille, Miranda and Shiori emerged from the bathroom. Camille was leaning slightly against Matron, and Miranda was steadying Shiori, who looked a little pale, and they were half-smiling about something. Matron's previously urgent look was now relieved and even a bit happy, it looked like to Chaoji. Camille appeared mildly astonished. Matron looked at Kisho and gave him a comforting smile.

"Shiori's fine, and she isn't sick. She seems to just be sensitive to strong smells and some food in the cafeteria got to her."

"Oh. It's because of her new form, probably." He frowned, his forehead puckered in thought. "It's still that way even when she's a human, though…?"

"That's what it seems like." Matron turned away from Kisho and gestured to Emile, then turned back to Camille. "She's fine to go back to the cafeteria now, but I'd be careful to stay away from whatever food that was." Shiori grinned weakly.

"It had a lot of pepper in it, whatever it was. Thank you." Chaoji and the siblings walked back towards the cafeteria. Kisho and Chaoji couldn't help but notice that Shiori kept staring over towards Camille, Emile, and Matron while beaming gleefully, even when they were out of sight. Miranda's arms were folded and her face was a little pink, like she'd become breathless from running. Kisho tugged on his sister's arm and brought her back to reality when she almost walked into him.

"What are you smiling about?" Sighing longingly Shiori looked at Kisho and paid attention to where she was walking again.

"Oh, it's just…." Kisho and Chaoji nodded in anticipation when she paused. Frowning, but still looking happy, Shiori shook her head. Miranda smiled and nodded surreptitiously. "Oh, never mind. Camille and Emile should tell you if they want."

"Huh?" Kisho asked, and Chaoji looked mildly confused still, though he also had the look of one who was slowly putting the pieces together.

"Just come on. I feel better, and since I'm away from that pepper bomb, I want to eat lunch. I might go to another table though if you want to come…I can't go near that food again." Miranda and Shiori began walking cheerfully side by side, chatting eagerly with each other, leaving the boys behind. Sharing a look, Chaoji and Kisho gave little shrugs and followed them.

"What were they talking about?" Kisho grumbled, and Chaoji smirked slightly. Kisho was supposed to speak a little more politely since he was a Finder, but sometimes he forgot. Anyone a mile away could tell that he didn't like the way he had to speak. "I hate it when girls get like that. They keep secrets and say you're stupid when you ask what they mean."

"You can't make them reveal anything." Chaoji and Kisho looked around and saw Lavi leaning against the wall with an amused look on his face. "Women are usually difficult to figure out. But you'll understand them someday."

"You're teaching me about women again?" Kisho asked impassively. "Thanks," he said, and Lavi, ignoring the sarcasm, nodded.

"Anytime. I'm a professional." Kisho looked perturbed and Chaoji rubbed his forehead.

"How many times does that mean you've been turned down?" He asked slyly, and Lavi responded indignantly.

"Hey, come on! What makes you think I get turned down?"

"The fact that you're still single," Chaoji responded bluntly and Lavi put on an exaggerated look of dejection.

"Hate to interrupt your relationship lesson, but Komui wants to see Chaoji and Miranda." The group stopped short; then the aforementioned exorcists hurriedly strode off after Hyun-Ae. "Allen's already waiting."

"He's going on missions this soon?" Shiori asked, gripping her left arm; Kisho nodded, having been wondering the same thing. His ankle was better, but still hurt. Then suddenly, he had a strong desire to go with them. He wanted to go with them, wanted to be their Finder. But he knew he had to sit this mission, and countless others out and it was bothering him. Chaoji turned and waved his arm, unconcerned.

"He's done that before and gotten through fine." Hyun-Ae turned and gave Shiori a cold glance, and Kisho thought she looked annoyed that they were worried.

"Save your worry for yourself and keep trying to activate your Innocence. I'll be checking on you later." Kisho was startled as she snapped at him. "And why are you hanging around with them? You should be working on _your_ training too." Without another word she turned sharply, even tossing her head a little as she walked off with Chaoji and Miranda. Lavi let out a breath.

"What's wrong with _her_?" Shiori hissed, a curse on the tip of her tongue.

"She's never really nice to anyone," Lavi said. He glanced at the siblings. "Better do what she says. I'm going to head off, too. Have to go talk to Bookman. He's not too happy with me."

"He's not?" Shiori tilted her head, feeling concerned and confused, not having had any idea there had been problems. Kisho and Shiori had heard from Lenalee that Lavi was a Bookman, and that he documented history and any events around him, but that was about it. It sounded hard to them, and probably hard to get over sometimes since there were lots of awful things in history, but from what they saw Lavi was good at being a Bookman.

"Yeah, but don't worry about it. It's just another one of those things." He closed his eye, gave a short sigh, and grinned. "Later." He walked off calmly, but still was gone before the siblings say anything else.

"Has Lavi seemed upset about anything lately?" Shiori asked, chewing on a fingernail.

"I don't think so…but then, he's not the person to show he's upset," he replied vaguely.

"Well, he'll be alright. I bet everyone else knows and they're watching out for him." Shiori laughed faintly and patted Kisho on the head. "You learned that the hard way, huh?"

"What do you mean?" Kisho asked, pretending to be upset. "You sound like you-know-who." Shiori quickly held a finger to her lips.

"Don't talk about her…if you do, she'll appear." Shiori seemed to be actually serious about that, and Kisho shook his head, smiling. Suddenly her stomach growled and she held it mournfully. "I'm going to go get some food. Bye for now."

"If you see Emile, could you tell him that I'm in the training room?" Kisho had almost gone to get food before, but now he wasn't hungry. Shiori nodded and left while Kisho wandered off in the opposite direction, down towards the training area. He wouldn't be able to really use anything in there except weights-there were practice weapons including knives-so Kisho was planning to do some warm-ups and wait for Emile to meet him there. By the time Emile came down to meet him, Kisho had lifted weights, done some push-ups and sit-ups, and stretches. The fourteen-year-old was slightly short and not incredibly strong, but he still had some physical strength, and had gotten a little more flexible and stronger because of the exorcist training he'd done for a while. Kisho looked at Emile, realizing suddenly that he still looked preoccupied, and decided it would be alright to ask him if everything was alright.

"Anything wrong? Are you getting sick too?" The older man glanced down at him, appearing confused.

"Sick?"

"I mean, did you catch the same thing Camille has?" As soon as the words were out of Kisho's mouth, Emile started to laugh, and it seemed like he'd cheered up but it wasn't clear why.

"I'm sorry…." He sighed, and managed to stop laughing. "No, I don't have what Camille has." Emile wiped his eyes; he'd been laughing so hard in what seemed to Kisho like relief. "She's not sick, at least, not like that." Before Kisho could ask what she had, then, Emile leaned down and said something in his ear. After a second Kisho felt his face turning red.

"Oh. Wha.…uh…she…is?" Emile nodded, a slight smile on his face. "I get it, then….heh..um…congratulations." Embarrassed, Kisho looked at the floor. "Sorry about that…about asking…"

"Hm? No, don't be, it's alright. And thank you. But we should get started. I want to go see how she's doing after this."

"Okay."

_I don't know why…but I'm kind of sorry I asked….._

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"Will Camille….I guess…will she go on missions still?"

"She still wants to, but at the same time, doesn't," Emile replied as he and Kisho headed up the stairs, finished with training for the day. "I'll still go because otherwise…I don't know if we'd be able to stay here. Don't get me wrong; we owe Komui a lot, and I've spoken to him already, and he understands but I don't want to trouble him." Emile's jaw clenched tightly and he appeared uncomfortable.

"You alright?" Kisho asked, noticing this and feeling worried.

"I'm fine. I told Camille I would still go on missions for a while, for maybe six months, but she wasn't too happy. She doesn't want something to happen to me." He rubbed his forehead. "And I don't either, but Komui's helping us with getting things for a baby, so…I want to keep working for him….well, I'm going to get things sorted out. Camille's still not feeling well so she's in the infirmary with Matron. Do you want to come with me to visit her? I'm going to see if she wants anything to eat, and then go to the cafeteria." A knot of unease formed in Kisho's stomach. He felt hot guilt, too, but for some reason found himself refusing.

"No, thank you…I'm really hungry. I think I'm going to go straight there. I can tell Jerry what you want so he can get it ready."

"Thank you," Emile said appreciatively. "I'll see you in a few." Kisho nodded, trying to keep his friendly grin in place until he had turned his back and walked away.

_Camille and I are friends…but I didn't want to go say hello._

"Hey, what's got you so down, shrimp?" Kisho looked up and felt a little better; Lavi was walking towards him and the two people came to a halt when they got close to each other. Bookman was walking next to Lavi, looking somber as usual, but this time there was something else shadowing his expression more than just his usual temperament.

"Bookman, sir….how have you been? I haven't seen you for a while." His comment caused Bookman to shake his head.

"I've been here for quite some time…it seems you just haven't noticed me."

"It's because you're even shorter than him, old man," Lavi chuckled, and Bookman sighed, but didn't snap an angry retort like he usually did.

"So, what are you up to….Lavi?" Bookman had started doing something odd; before Kisho had even gotten halfway through his sentence, the man had begun giving quick shakes of his head and his eyes were boring warningly into Kisho's. And now he was staring disapprovingly at him for reasons that escaped the teenager. Lavi looked at Kisho with a puzzled expression and frowned.

"What?" Lavi asked, laughing a little.

"I just wanted to know what you were up to, that's all," Kisho repeated. "I'm going to get something to eat. You hungry?" He asked, looking puzzled now as well. Lavi waved his right hand dismissively.

"No, I mean, what did you call me?"

"Lavi. That's your name, isn't it?" Kisho asked, a feeling of alarm growing in his chest. He would have thought his friend had been joking if it weren't for the confused and skeptical look he was getting.

"Are you messing with me? Nice try, but I don't like your attempt at giving me a nickname." Kisho was astounded, and he looked at Bookman, who glared at him briefly before averting his gaze.

"Lavi, what's going on?" He demanded, thoroughly shaken now, but Lavi's eyebrows dipped irritably.

"Why are you calling me Lavi?" The redhead asked, exasperated.

"Because that's your name!" Kisho exclaimed fiercely. "Are you telling me you've got another one?"

"You must have hit your head or something, Kikun. My name isn't Lavi," the redhead snapped. "And why are you getting so worked up about my name when you don't even pay attention to your own?"

"What do you mean?" Kisho asked hesitantly. He knew his family name and Shiori's family name were different, but he'd grown up believing that didn't mean anything because he remembered no other parents than his and Shiori's mother, and no one had mentioned if he was from another family. He'd told himself that when he'd been born, for some reason, his mother had wanted him to have a different name but that he still belonged to the family Kimura. All of a sudden, in the face of Lavi's statement, though, Kisho was realizing how mistaken and childish he sounded. A family would never change a child's inherited family name unless it had been from Morioka to Kimura, for instance.

"I believe he means," Bookman said, turning his head towards Kisho, "that it's odd you're Kimura Shiori's sister when you don't share the same family name. Your name is Morioka." For a moment Kisho was stunned, and his throat felt like it was closing up. But then he felt angry at both Bookman and Lavi and forced himself not to ask questions about what Bookman meant. No matter how dumb Kisho knew he must seem for not paying attention to the difference in his and Shiori's family names, he hadn't been worried about it before and wasn't going to start now. He needed to figure out what was wrong with his friend.

"I don't care about that!" He felt himself shouting. "It's not important now. What happened to you, Lavi?" Kisho hissed.

"Nothing happened to me. This is really getting old." The redhead ran his fingers through his hair. "You can still call me that if you want, I guess," he sighed, shrugging, "but I don't know why you forgot my name was Russell."

"Russell?" Kisho echoed faintly. "I don't understand."

"_You _don't?" Lavi snorted. "Tell me about it. If you ask nicely, maybe Bookman will try to cure your amnesia with his needles."

"Needles?"

"That is my Innocence weapon—acupuncture needles," Bookman clarified, still fixing Kisho with a harsh glare. "Their function is as a weapon, and as a medical tool. Now if you'll excuse us, we must be going."

"Wait!" Kisho shouted, around Bookman and Lavi, then coming to a stop in front of them so they'd have to also stop. "Where are you going?" Feeling like he was going to lose a friend, Kisho looked desperately at Lavi and Bookman. "You're going to come back, aren't you?"

"I'm still an exorcist," Lavi replied, frowning in a confused manner at the teenager. "So yeah, I'll be back." He reached out with his right hand and ruffled Kisho's hair. "Don't get your diapers in a bunch, alright?" He laughed. "You still going to call me Lavi?"

"Yeah…." Kisho answered cautiously, and saw Lavi nod. He seemed a little puzzled still but not angry.

"That's fine. I really don't mind. It sounds good, but a name doesn't matter much. Without a name, a person would still be a person." Lavi lifted his hand from Kisho's head and walked away with Bookman. "Remember that." Bookman and Lavi walked around Kisho, leaving him alone in the hallway.

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**Sometimes I think I hesitate and check chapters over too much. Sometimes I overlook things, and sometimes I add stuff. :/ And I procrastinate uploading...so I'm glad I finally got this uploaded.**

**The marriage age in the 19th Century was pretty young, but Emile is 24 and Camille is 25. Emile is from Germany (though I seem to have given him the French spelling of his name), and Camille is from Algeria (Northern Africa), but when she was little she and her mother went to France.**

**I'll talk about Lavi now. I know it'd be confusing to call Lavi by a different name after all this time, and I don't know if I really could (I know the name police won't come and get me if I did change it but I like Lavi's name) so Lavi is still "Lavi" despite the thing I just did. It's a "nickname". And "Russell" is supposed to be a name for people with red hair. I like it, though, on its own—a friend of mine is named Russell (and his hair's kind of dark brown). Anyway, my idea was that Bookman used his needles to suppress the memories Lavi had of everything Bookman-related (including all the names he had); but Lavi still has memories of his life, his friends, and things he saw, but he won't connect all of what he did with being a Bookman (since it's my understanding that Bookman stuff is kind of exclusive). Might be kind of a dramatic and far-fetched thing I did, but eh…there you go.**

**Thank you for reading! I hope you enjoyed the chapter and are having a fun weekend and/or Halloween! ^3^ To stay safe on Halloween, wear a costume that has some item with it. For example, a Grim Reaper. If someone shady tries to mess with you, then smack them with your scythe, even though it's probably made of plastic. Chanting that you're on the lookout for souls can also fend people away from you. If your friends hear you saying weird stuff then it probably won't bother them. ^.~ Maybe they'll even join in.**


	42. Armistice

**It's all mission this chapter, and a little longer than the other chapters, maybe…hopefully that's good. ^^ It's thirteen pages in Word…I wonder if that's how long most chapters are for career-writers. Dunno. Anyway!**

**Lavi: You changed my name and gave me amnesia. What is wrong with you?**

**Me: I'm fine, thanks!**

**Lavi: -.-;**

**Me: You'll still be called Lavi…I'm going to make it work…it'd be too strange if your name was something I picked. It'd be like I made you up and I didn't.**

**Lavi: What?**

**Me: Like I put makeup on you.**

**Lavi: What?**

**Me: Are there megaphones in your time?**

**Lavi: There are blunt objects to hit people with.**

**Me: Like with the lead pipe in the conservatory?**

**Lavi: Or with the hammer in a castle far away where no one can hear you.**

**Allen: Uh… (looks at paper) "I don't own D. Gray Man or any of us or our names. A person named (checks paper) Hoshino Natsumi does. No, wait…Hoshino Katsura does." (Looks up) "I don't own…Potter Puppet Pals?..." but it seems like she's about to get owned by Lavi.**

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**Chapter 38 - Armistice**

"Mirandese?" Allen echoed, pulling his glance away from the window as an unfamiliar word broke through to his ears. Chaoji, Miranda, Emile, and the formerly white-haired exorcist were on a train heading to Miranda do Douro, Portugal. Emile was explaining to the exorcists a bit about the area—located in northern Portugal—that they were heading towards by train. It had been a somewhat long but uneventful trip so far, and none of the group, especially Allen, had minded that so much. He was enjoying the green and blue scenery of the trees and river the train was driving by, while Timcampy continued to snuggle up in Allen's brown hair, catching winks.

"It's a type of dialect in northern Portugal, specific to where we are now." Once again Allen felt a little surprised when he looked at Emile; the Finder had a long vertical gash from his hairline down to his jaw. It had just about healed and blended back in with the rest of his tan skin but it was still a faint pink-white color. "It isn't spoken in many places besides the north, really, and it's not recognized as an official language yet."

"Hmm," Allen said thoughtfully, smiling a little at Miranda who blinked, puzzled, at him. "There's a place and a language named after you." She laughed.

"Well, I can't speak it." She said and smiled. "Can you, Emile?"

"No, but I learned to speak Portuguese. The languages are pretty different, but some people who speak Mirandese usually can speak Portuguese too." He looked out the window; they were pulling into the station and once the train came to a full stop everyone stood up and got ready to disembark. "This should be a quick mission. We just need to get in, find the Innocence, and get back out. But there have been reports of Akuma, so it may take longer." The exorcists nodded; that was the reason Komui had sent three exorcists instead of just two and one Finder. He'd sensed that things may get rough, too. But Allen was glad to be doing anything—especially this even if it was rough—because just a little while ago he hadn't known what was going to happen to him. His life had been coming to a dead end….and suddenly he'd been given a second chance and he wasn't going to waste it. He felt better than he had in a while and jumped off of the train. He hadn't known he'd been grinning until Miranda smiled sideways at him and asked what he was thinking about.

"Something's making you happy," she observed, trailing behind Emile and Chaoji to walk beside him. "That's good." Feeling a little embarrassed Allen's cheeks flushed slightly.

"Oh, just thinking….it's a nice day." Miranda looked around at the blue sky, bright green grassy fields, and still-green trees. It was a week late in August and was still pretty hot out, so the two exorcists sighed when a cooling breeze wafted over them.

"It is," she agreed, closing her eyes for a few seconds. Allen reached up to pat Timcampy and nodded—then stumbled a little as the action made him dizzy. Miranda took his arm.

"Are you alright?" She asked immediately, concerned, which caused Emile to perk up and turn around. Chaoji turned as well when Emile didn't keep up his side of the conversation. "You look a little tired. It could be the heat." Emile looked closely at Allen, who gave a cheerful, but annoyed, grin. Allen knew he wasn't sick, and knew he still felt fine—but this unexpected dizziness had left him confused and frustrated. Emile's eyes narrowed briefly; then he looked over his shoulder.

"I think we can spend an hour or so resting. There's a place to take a break nearby." Allen waved his hands, then stopped as it made his head spin some more.

"It's alright. I'm fine, Emile," he tried to assure the Finder but he didn't seem to buy it.

"We're all hot and tired, and our heavy clothes aren't helping that get better. The mission is important, but so is taking care of our health. Let's go." Allen almost protested again but Emile gave him a look, so he closed his mouth and walked along after Emile while Chaoji and Miranda walked near him, seemingly so they could support him if he suddenly fell over. Allen couldn't help feeling more and more annoyed. He did not want to get sick on his first mission back. His back, burned from an Akuma virus, had healed and so had the burns on his wrists and right ankle. The only remaining injuries were his cut and sprained left ankle but those hardly hurt anymore even if he still wore the brace for support. It must be some leftover fatigue from being injured, and the heat; it wouldn't even take an hour to get over that. Allen realized he could take his exorcist jacket off so his heat exhaustion wouldn't return, even if that was what singled exorcists out and made the Akuma show themselves.

He couldn't see Akuma with his eye anymore, but…he glanced furtively at Miranda and Chaoji; they were keeping their coats on and gave no indication that they were going to take them off. Feeling guilty for wanting to remove his, Allen knew he wouldn't let them me the most vulnerable. After all this time he had to wait for Akuma to attack just like all the other exorcists. Not having his cursed eye was strangely almost like a handicap, but again, he felt a pang of guilt. Considering what would have happened if he'd kept his eye, he realized that he was genuinely glad to be rid of it. He wanted to be on the same level as his friends. Allen guessed that was because of Lenalee's reaction a long time ago and the lecture Lavi had given him. Her hurt expressions and the things she'd said to Allen still made him uncomfortable, but the things _he'd_ said to _her _still made him feel ashamed. Rubbing his forehead, the exorcist grumbled a little. There was only so much ideological restructuring one could take before it caused a headache.

As the group strode on Allen discovered that the dull pain in his forehead felt like it was getting stronger, and seemed to be because of a loud noise in his ears….a strange, piercing noise that although faint was a little painful. _No. What is wrong with me? Damn it… _His fingernails pressed hard, digging into his forehead, as if that would make the pain go away.

"Are you alright?" Allen heard Miranda's voice from his left and he felt her hands close around his arm.

"I'm…" he began, but suddenly felt too tired to speak and closed his mouth. The piercing noise in his head felt as uncomfortable as the Fourteenth Noah singing that song into his mind. He felt afraid suddenly. What if he wasn't really gone? _No, somehow I can tell that he is. So what is this?_

"Allen, look at me. Do you hear anything in your head?" That was Emile, but Allen was barely listening to him.

_Did another Innocence get destroyed? Is that why I feel so bad? If one…did then…that's not….good…so soon after…the first one…_

"Allen, focus. Talk to me. Stay awake." He managed to register Emile's voice speaking again but he felt like he wasn't able to respond.

"What's wrong with him?" A worried, trembling voice was close to him and it sounded like Miranda, then Emile as he said something back to her.

"It's almost like when…."Allen's eyes fluttered closed, and with an effort he forced them open again, but then just let them close and gave into the weariness that was making his body so heavy and useless.

_I can't tell what they're saying…I'm too tired. _Gazing drowsily at Emile, Allen tried to tell him that he had to rest, but dimly felt himself fall forward as his legs buckled, so his attempts to speak failed as he passed out.

Allen found himself having strange, lucid dreams. The contents of the dreams weren't unfamiliar because he saw himself walking through a city and looking for Innocence. That wasn't anything new. Exorcists looked for Innocence all the time. The strange thing was that although he was dreaming it felt like he was currently experiencing everything he was seeing himself do even if it was a dream. In dreams, though, he usually never saw himself, though now he was. It was like an out-of-body experience.

Allen was following himself as he walked with deliberate slowness down a street in a town that seemed vaguely familiar while Miranda, Chaoji, and Emile followed him. This was bizarre. Miranda looked over towards Emile and her mouth moved but Allen couldn't hear what she was saying, and when Emile looked at her and spoke, his words weren't audible either. Suddenly they stopped short and became tense. Allen saw himself standing in the middle of the road and noticed he'd transformed his left arm into the familiar deadly claws. Akuma were around, he instinctively knew. The Allen who was watching tried to move towards himself (and silently was hoping this dream would end soon) but found that he couldn't. It seemed that somehow he was just a spectator, watching himself moving to evade a shot from a Level One Akuma. The next moment his claws were tearing through the Akuma's body, rending it into pieces and killing it instantly. The dreaming Allen saw Chaoji and Miranda moving to avoid and then attack other Akuma that appeared. They were Level Two human form Akuma, and Chaoji punched his fist into one, then picked it up and hurled it into the air. Allen's body rushed it and slashed this one apart, too. After the group destroyed about a dozen more Akuma, most Level Twos and a Level Three, dreaming Allen saw that his body was running away from the battlefield.

_What are you doing? _He felt himself screaming mentally. _Don't abandon them! What the hell are you doing? Get back there!_ But dreaming Allen was pulled away from the battle site and had to follow where his body was going. Soon he had left the town and was in the middle of a clearing of trees. One of them was shining, and both Allen's body and dreaming Allen approached it. Allen saw his body lifting a hand towards the tree and in a flash of white he felt himself being pulled towards his body. In that instant he had control over what he was doing again, and felt something warm in his right hand. Uncurling his fingers Allen breathed in sharply, then turned and pushed himself to run as fast as he could back to town.

_Chaoji. _Allen jumped and shook his head. _For Chaoji. _A voice kept repeating that and Allen looked down at the Innocence as he ran.

_This is for Chaoji? It's a piece of the Heart. _He felt the confirmation rather than thinking it and was startled that the Innocence had answered him. But he tried to focus on getting back to his friends and focus on details later. Allen shoved the Innocence into his right pocket. His "dream" was over and now he had to move. Allen felt marginally relieved when he ran back into the town, but stopped dead at the sight he saw. Emile and Miranda lay near each other, Emile lying on his stomach and Miranda on her side. _No. No, no, no._ Chaoji was engaging several Akuma at once, all of them looking like giants. Their arms and legs were thick with muscles and looked like they could crush Chaoji easily. The male exorcist was surrounded by four of the huge Akuma but was holding his ground well. His eyes flicked suddenly towards Allen and widened in relief. Before the Akuma could discover Allen, he rushed the Akuma whose back was to him, transforming his arm into a sword. He was startled to see that its form had changed to a slimmer sword instead of the usual broadsword but ignored it. Leaping into the air Allen fell back down towards one of the Akuma, his sword pointing straight down. He landed on its head and stabbed as hard and deep as he could, then strained his arms as he slashed sideways and yanked his Anti-Akuma Weapon out. He'd cut a large slash into the head but this had just distracted one of them and drawn the attention of the others when the injured Akuma gave a loud bellow.

Allen leapt into the air as another Akuma's fist swung down for him; it wound up crushing the injured Akuma's head and Allen aimed quickly and stabbed again into the first Akuma, which was deep enough and in a vital spot to make it collapse. Allen had to jump again to avoid the second Akuma's swinging fist, and as he pointed his sword down towards it, he felt his arm burning hot and yelled in pain. The sword formed back into his left arm, then glowed bright white. When the light faded Allen was staring at his left arm in wonder. It was a cannon, but black instead of white—the same weapon it had transformed into all those years ago. Recovering his focus quickly Allen aimed it at the fallen Akuma, and the one that had swung at him, and willed it to fire. Glowing white bullets rained down on the two giant Akuma, destroying the injured one and stunning the second one. Chaoji meanwhile was on the defensive because the third and fourth Akuma had focused on him again. Allen fired at his Akuma, pouring as much power as he could into the attack, and was relieved to see it crumple to the ground and explode. The explosion rocked the ground and made the third Akuma, which had been raising both its fists to attack Chaoji, stumble. Allen willed the cannon to change back to an arm and used Clown Belt to wrap around the two remaining Level Threes and hold them tightly. One hand, his left one, was gripping the end of the Clown Belt and the other one was free so he plunged his right hand into his pocket and grabbed the Innocence. "Chaoji! Here!" He shouted, and was dragged forward a little by the two Akuma as they fought against their bonds.

Chaoji glanced up just in time to raise his left hand and catch the object Allen had thrown. He shielded his eyes as it glowed brightly. Squinting, Chaoji opened his eyes to slits and looked down at his left wrist. The Innocence was rising into the air and in a movement so quick it was a blur the fragment dropped down onto the links around his wrist, melting into the silver metal and vanishing.

Allen was dragged off his feet when both of the Akuma seized the strips of Clown Belt and yanked it towards them. He transformed his left hand into the claws and sheared off the edge that was tying him to the Akuma, and dug his heels into the ground so he could come to a stop and move away. But just as he did one of the Akuma burst free of the Clown Belt's wrapping and charged Allen, grabbing him in its fist once it was close enough. In a swift motion, the Akuma drew back, then tossed Allen across the city where he slammed into a building with an enormous crash. The building, which three stories high, began swaying. Chaoji stared at it before having to dodge a swipe from the Akuma. Glowering at it, Chaoji felt a rage rising in him that he hadn't felt since the death of his friends many years ago. It was overpowering him and his fists clenched so hard that his nails dug into his palms and pierced deep. But he didn't feel that; instinctively Chaoji's right hand flashed out to grab his left, but instead of grabbing his wrist he felt himself grab something different. Glancing sharply at his wrist, Chaoji felt a flash of amazement. The second link that dangled from the one around his wrist had a thick length of chain attached to it. He had grabbed it and saw now that it was a chain flail, the flail at the end being a large round weight with medium-length spikes coming out of it. Clenching his teeth in fury, Chaoji began spinning the flail above his head, and when it was spinning so fast that it started whistling as it cut through the air, he let it fly.

One of the giant Akuma had barely turned before the flail impacted its side. The metal weight encountered a moment of resistance before punching completely through the Akuma's body and out through the other side. Stricken, the Level Three fell to its knees and crumpled to the ground, a strange sort of light emitting from its body as it faded away—a white light, Chaoji realized, but didn't stop to dwell on. The last remaining Akuma was charging him now but Chaoji waited for it, then leapt aside just before it would have collided with him. Turning sharply the man threw the chain out towards the Level Three, and felt himself will the chain to get longer, and it did. Startled, the Akuma stopped its charged and the chain wrapped around its body, tightened, and appeared to fuse to its body which caused the creature to give a howl of pain as if the chain links were burning it. As the end of the chain finished wrapping around the Level Three, Chaoji dug his feet into the ground and clenched his teeth.

His Innocence gave him strength, but he didn't know if he was strong enough to do this yet, but he resolved to give it a try. Chaoji yanked one the chain once and it began shortening, drawing the thrashing Akuma towards him. He waited until it was a little more than halfway towards him, grabbed the chain with both hands, and flung it into the air. It was heavy, but the weight was amazingly bearable, and just like before Chaoji began swinging the chain over his head. After about five times of swinging the Akuma in a circle over him, he willed the chain to release and let the Akuma go. The chain slipped free of the creature's body and because of Chaoji giving his wrist a little flick the Level Three flew high into the air. Pulling the chain towards him, the exorcist flung the chain up again and pierced its body just like he had the one before. A piercing shriek made him wince painfully but he'd done it; the Akuma exploded in midair, finally defeated. Chaoji slumped to his knees and saw his Innocence turn back into the normal silver links. All at once he felt the exertion of what he'd done and fell forward onto his side. His arms felt so heavy and strained, he didn't know if he'd be able to move them to get up and see if Allen was alright. Chaoji felt his eyes drooping shut and he tried to fight the feeling of fatigue sweeping over him. He couldn't pass out now; he had to check on everyone, especially Allen, who had been buried in the wreckage of a building. So, even though his body was screaming at him to stop and rest, Chaoji forced himself to his feet and stumbled over to Emile and Miranda.

Emile was unconscious, having been broadsided by one of the Akuma's huge hands, and Miranda had also been struck by one, but she appeared to slowly be coming around. She'd been helping Chaoji's injuries stay away when one of them had hit her, and Emile had been caught while trying to move Miranda away from the battle area. Chaoji grit his teeth; his injuries weren't that bad. He'd been thrown by one of the giant Akuma but aside from feeling sharp pains in his middle every now and then he felt fine. And his friends' injuries were more important at the moment. Rifling around in Emile's shoulder bag Chaoji found bandages. Taking one, he unwrapped it and put it to Miranda's forehead, where she was bleeding more than he thought was safe. Gently but firmly he kept his right hand on her forehead, and with his other hand, felt her wrist. Her pulse felt normal and she looked like she was breathing fine so he kept pressing over the cut and checked a minute later; the bleeding had slowed down so he moved over to Emile. There was some bruising down the left side of his face and neck which worried him but something told him to just check his breathing and pulse and not move him too much. Emile and Miranda were in the shadowed alleyway of a building, and no one else seemed to be around. And he didn't have a choice, anyway—he had to go find Allen. A gold flash made Chaoji shoot his hand out and close around something; he squeezed his right fist, then opened it and saw a very disgruntled Timcampy baring his many teeth.

"Sorry," he murmured. "I'm going to go find Allen. Stay with Miranda and Emile and come get me if Akuma—or anyone—come by." Timcampy twitched his tail and flew into the alleyway and Chaoji headed as quickly as he could to the collapsed building. It was getting dark now. The Black Order group had arrived in northern Portugal early in the evening, walked through the town following Allen for an hour or so while telling people along the way to get somewhere safe—preferably near the edges of the city. Then Akuma had appeared. Allen had destroyed a few and run off, to Miranda, Emile, and Chaoji's dismay. He had collapsed after arriving at Miranda Do Douro and then began acting like—this was according to Emile—Kisho had when under the Innocence's control. They had fought Akuma for a while and Allen had come back with an Innocence that Chaoji now had. _How can I have two?_ He wondered distractedly, trying not to think of Allen severely injured or worse in the wreckage of that building.

The sun had been down for some time now, but the noise had attracted some people. When Chaoji got closer his eyes had adjusted to the darkness enough to see that they were examining the building, which had collapsed. Chaoji didn't know when it had fallen down during the battle, since he couldn't pay attention. But he didn't see Allen anywhere. A few of the people looked dusty and slightly beaten up, but they were calling into the wreckage, as if trying to see if anyone was stuck inside. It turned out someone probably was. Rushing forward Chaoji pushed past the people and studied the wreckage. He could easily lift the pieces of debris, but they had to be the right ones, or else Allen could be crushed if shifting the debris around made the building collapse more. But he had to try and do something. So Chaoji looked quickly for a piece of wood that wasn't under anything else and grabbed it, then lifted it carefully and pulled it towards him. After he'd removed a few pieces this way, the people around him murmured and began doing the same thing.

"Wait!" Chaoji said, a spasm of panic making his heart thud faster. They stopped and looked at him, and he started to shake his head, but noticed they were attempting to move the wood pieces the same way as him. "Sorry," he said guiltily, "thank you." He nodded and smiled faintly, and they nodded or grinned back at him and pulled some more pieces of wood away. Chaoji looked at the wreckage of the building again and saw a long piece of wood and, without thinking, picked it up. It wasn't woven under any other broken beams, but it was heavier than a normal person could have picked up alone, or even with a few people. Some people in the small crowd froze when they saw Chaoji lift it, murmuring as they nudged their friends in the side and pointed to him. _I probably shouldn't have done that._ The townspeople were staring at Chaoji with wide-eyes. He couldn't put the beam down now, so the exorcist just pulled it away from the rubble and set it down a fair distance away. Jogging back Chaoji noticed that a few people now had intimidated or skeptical stares. Sighing, he gestured to the Rose Cross on his jacket and hoped they'd understand. Instantly he saw that some of them did, and those people began explaining excitedly to the others, who now were looking at Chaoji with awe. The people gestured to the building's wreckage and began picking up pieces of wood again. A girl with brown hair and a dusty nightdress with rips and splinters in it approached Chaoji and smiled hesitantly at him. He didn't understand what she was saying, but it sounded friendly and sincere, so he smiled and nodded at her when she was done.

"_I was in there when it started falling. A person helped me and the others get out. It was lucky not a lot of people were in there. Do you think that person was your friend?"_ When Chaoji nodded she looked anxious and bit her lip. Chaoji's smile vanished from his face, but he tried to give her a reassuring smile, then went back to picking wood away from the pile of debris. They'd all gotten by so far without making anything collapse, but it knocked against another piece of wood, which made a few other pieces slide around. Chaoji grabbed one of them, and the girl kept holding the piece of wood that made the others fall. Chaoji grabbed for it but an arm that was completely black shot through a hole that had been made by moving pieces of wood and grabbed it, then tossed it between Chaoji and the girl. It clattered a short distance away. The girl, upon seeing the arm, screamed and drew back, still holding her piece of wood.

"Allen?" Chaoji shouted. "Allen!"

"I can hear you," came a muffled reply, causing Chaoji to sigh in relief.

"Are you alright? Did you get injured anywhere?"

"I'll live," Allen replied, his voice sounding strained and weary, but still alert.

"Was anyone else in the building when it collapsed?" Chaoji asked gingerly.

"No. I'm pretty sure I got them all out just in time."

"Good," Chaoji said, feeling relieved and impressed with him. But Allen was still stuck, though if they moved more wood away from the hole that his arm was sticking through, they'd be able to get him out. The girl was shaking a little from seeing Allen's arm appear so suddenly but blinked once, swallowed, and yelled something to the other people, who looked up and rushed over. Between the group of them, they steadily removed pieces of wood from the area Allen was buried in and after a while more of the exorcist's body appeared; he was lying half on his back and half on his side with his sword arm held out horizontally across his body. A large beam of wood was keeping it from falling on him. If they lifted it up, then Allen could get out—but he'd have to be quick, because if the long beam was pulled out then he could get buried again because lots of other rubble was being held in place by it.

"We're going to lift this beam, and then you come out as fast as you can." Chaoji asked, and Allen nodded resolutely. He turned towards the girl to try and explain, but just as he was wishing Emile was awake to be a translator, she nodded up at him, then turned and it seemed like she was explaining to the group what Chaoji's plan was. A few of the people including the girl held the beam at the top, and the five remaining people including Chaoji grabbed the end.

"One, two, three," the girl said slowly, hesitantly, then began counting again but not in English, though still counted slowly, so Chaoji understood what she was saying. He prepared to lift. _"One….two…..three."_ Everyone lifted with as much strength as they could. Chaoji wondered if he could have lifted it on his own, but was glad that he had help, because this situation wasn't worth taking chances. Allen quickly transformed his weapon back into an arm and although the people let out startled exclamations when they saw, they kept holding onto the beam. Nimbly Allen jumped out from the hole, did a little roll under the beam and jumped away from the wreckage when he got back on his feet. With a grunt everyone dropped the beam and backed a safe distance away from the destroyed building. Deciding it was better to get out of the open Chaoji gestured for everyone to follow him, and after a second's pause and encouraging from the young girl, they did. Once in the alleyway Chaoji looked at Allen; the exorcist slid down a wall, exhausted, and let out a breath. He looked dusty, and had lots of scratches and bruises across his body, and he had a few more serious cuts but apart from that he didn't look injured anywhere else. His eyes caught movement and he saw that Miranda was sitting up and trying to wake Emile up. A woman from the crowd came forward and knelt next to him. Miranda smiled at her but seemed slightly wary.

"It's alright, Miranda. None of these people are Akuma," Allen said wearily, hoping she wouldn't ask for an explanation. Even without his eye, Allen somehow had been able to sense Akuma and tell exactly where their aura was coming from. It was obvious during the fight where the Akuma had been, but even so, he'd been able to feel them. It was an ominous and distressing presence. Allen had believed that seeing Akuma's trapped souls was difficult enough, but now he knew that sensing them was worse. The exorcist could feel a smothering fear press in on him, as if he was having trouble breathing and yet his heart raced. Now his breathing was heavy only because he was still tired from the fight, and his heartbeat was thudding; all of the Akuma were gone. Suddenly he remembered something, and looked around for Chaoji. "Thank you," he sighed, still a little out of breath from the fight. Chaoji looked surprised and shook his head.

"You should thank her," he said, motioning towards a young girl. "She got everyone to help us get you out." Allen smiled at her and she gave him a shy smile back, then nodded once, and began speaking. Chaoji and Allen glanced at each other.

"Um…." Allen began, but voices nearby made him look around.

"She says that we can stay in her house," Emile spoke quietly, sitting up with a wince. Miranda had managed to wake him up. "We can stay for a few days." He looked behind the girl. "She lives with her aunt, and there are extra rooms." Allen and Chaoji exchanged skeptical glances, but didn't say anything since Emile seemed to know what he was doing. Even so, Allen and Chaoji didn't feel like this was such a good idea. Miranda cast a quick worried glance in their direction, then smiled at the young girl.

"Thank you!" Miranda breathed, then turned to Emile. "Is it alright for you to move?" She asked, taking his arm as the Finder began pushing his hands against the alley wall behind him.

"I'll manage…and we need to get inside, even if the Akuma are gone." Slowly Miranda helped Emile get to his feet, and a few minutes later, the girl led the way to her house. She led them up the stairs and showed them to two rooms that were side by side; they were both big rooms, enough for probably four people, but Allen, Chaoji, and Emile—according to the girl—would share a room. Miranda and the girl—who Emile found out was named Rute— would share a room. The last bedroom was her aunt's room. Emile gratefully told the girl thank you, then goodnight after she told him what time they'd have breakfast tomorrow. Rute told them her aunt Luzia would check on them in the morning and wake them up when breakfast was ready. After that, Emile treated the exorcists' injuries, but was relieved that none were very serious. He gave himself medical attention, too, but knew that they'd just have to wait for their bodies to heal, and told everyone to start by getting some sleep. Miranda and Rute went to their room, and Allen, Chaoji, and Emile went into the spare room Rute had shown them. Each of them staggered over to their beds and collapsed onto them, barely bothering to get under the covers, and not long after they'd tossed and turned a few times to get comfortable they were fast asleep.

Chaoji woke up and didn't have to move much to know that his whole body would be aching. When he rolled over to get out of bed and immediately stiffened with a hiss of pain, he realized he was right. Every muscle in his body, especially those of his upper body and arms, was just a big mass of fiery pain. Gritting his teeth and trying to fight past the pain, Chaoji stood up and leaned backwards, working out the nighttime stiffness his body had gotten. With a quiet groan he rubbed his back and yawned, then moved gradually towards the door, trying to keep his legs from sagging. He still felt exhausted from yesterday, and wobbled a bit as he walked, but a warm, heavenly smell was wafting up from downstairs, and his hunger was winning out over his fatigue. The warm smell reminded him of bread, and there was another smell that was bitter, and probably the scent of coffee and it made his stomach gurgle loudly. If Chaoji was this hungry, then Allen must have been on an instinctive food rage when he'd woken up. Looking around the room, the exorcist saw that his friend's two beds were empty, and then looked out the window. The sun was what had woken Chaoji up, and he guessed it was around ten or eleven in the morning. Yawning again Chaoji gripped the doorknob and twisted it open, then stiffly walked downstairs step by step, wincing when his muscles sent flashes of pain through his body. Once downstairs he hung a left and walked forward a short ways to see Rute, her aunt, Emile, Miranda, and Allen sitting down for breakfast.

The dining room was simple but stylish; a beige clay fireplace, wide at the bottom and narrower towards the top, was behind and to the right of the white tablecloth-covered dining table. A bronze chandelier with four white candles in the holders hung over the table. A pretty wooden desk was to the right of the table and several items including a few portraits of people and small lamps sat on it, while a large mirror hung over it. Behind the table was a tall round doorway that showed part of the room beyond—the kitchen, probably. Allen and Miranda were sitting next to each other on the right side of the table, while Emile was sitting next to Rute, and Luzia—the girl's aunt—sat at the head of the table on the far side. Chaoji entered the room and sat down in the chair closest to him "Good morning," Chaoji said with a nervous smile, and got a few 'Good mornings' in return—from Allen, Emile, and Rute, who said the words in English with only a little hesitation. "Did you get a good rest?" Emile asked, and received a nod.

"Good enough," Chaoji replied, and noticed that the group was halfway through their breakfast and still eating. The breakfast looked like slices of bread with butter and fruit preserves, and each person had coffee in an orange banded coffee cup with leaf decorations. A plate was at Chaoji's side of the table and it already had a few pieces of bread with the fruit spread on it. He smiled at Luzia and she smiled and nodded at him, so he picked up a piece and started eating. The fresh bread and grape spread was delicious and perked him up. He tried not to eat too fast, though, and sipped some of the coffee, not minding that it was a little stronger than he was used to. He didn't mind though, because it would wake him up. Now he knew firsthand why the science department depended so much on coffee. "This is great, by the way," he said, looking at Luzia, then at Emile, who smiled and looked over towards Luzia. He spoke to her in Portuguese, Allen and Chaoji knew, since the Finder told them he couldn't speak Mirandese. Emile finished talking and looked back at them. "I told them you liked the food and she said thank you, and wants you to tell her if you want more." Emile laughed when Chaoji smirked slightly at Allen, who fidgeted with the napkin in his lap.

"I'm fine," he said anxiously, smiling as genuinely as he could while trying to keep his stomach from growling loudly. It was a long trip back to The Black Order….and meals would be served on the train. In towns, Allen didn't feel guilty about eating as much as he could, because places often served exorcists for free. But he didn't feel right about treating Luzia's place as a bed and breakfast and eating her and her niece out of house and home. "Thank you for the meal," he said with a polite nod towards Luzia and Rufe; when Allen had first started smelling something nice, he'd gone downstairs to find them both making breakfast. They'd seen him waiting there and had given him hand signals he'd taken to mean 'just a minute' without sounding the least bit impatient. The short cabinet next to the dining table had a clear door so he could see that there were plates, knives, and forks inside, and he'd picked a plate up and showed it to the aunt and niece, then pointed to the table. They looked at him for a second, then Rufe had smiled appreciatively as Allen started to set the table. He was grateful to them for offering to let them stay at their house and feed them. Emile told Allen when they were walking to Luzia and Rute's house that Rute had offered them a place to stay to thank them for destroying the Akuma and keeping their town safe. Hearing that had felt strange to Allen for some reason. Normally exorcists wouldn't interact much with anyone on their missions if they were normal townspeople. If they did, they risked being attacked by Akuma disguised as people. So even when they'd figured out that Rufe and Luzia weren't Akuma, it still felt strange that they had accepted their hospitality. Emile probably accepted because they had been exhausted and injured, and had little choice, since they wouldn't have been able to walk to the next town where the train station was. Soon the group would leave for The Black Order and probably either rest, do some training, and go back to their next mission.

Allen didn't have any problem with that, of course, but somehow, he was unsettled. Suddenly Allen realized that his feeling of hunger was gone, and in its place now was a strange hollowness. The only other times he'd felt this way were when Mana had died, when Cross had vanished after telling him he'd become a Noah someday, and most recently, when his Innocence had been destroyed, and most recently, when the Noah Clan had captured him. The strange emptiness in his stomach didn't feel like hunger anymore…somehow it felt lonely. Emile caught Allen's eye and when the exorcist subtly looked towards the front door, he nodded once, briefly. As Allen stood up and took his plate and silverware to the kitchen, Emile explained what he was doing quietly, and after quickly washing his dishes Allen left the house and started walking through the town. Timcampy, who had been sitting on his shoulder all through breakfast, sat there calmly.

After Allen had been walking for a few minutes, he began thinking back to yesterday. Why had he been able to find the Innocence? The only people who could find them were, well, Finders. The only person who had been able to find Innocence instinctively like that was Kisho. _I'm not a Finder,_ Allen thought, forehead wrinkling in confusion. _And no offense to Finders, but I like being an exorcist._

"I don't suddenly have to stop being an exorcist, Timcampy. I still have my Innocence, and I know I'm supposed to be an exorcist. Kisho said he didn't have his heart in being one, but I do." At that word, Allen grimaced. The Heart….Allen thought it was the reason he'd suddenly gone into that strange state yesterday, because for his whole life, Allen had been in contact with Innocence. Only after he'd come in contact with the Heart had any of this started happening. Kisho had also been in contact with Innocence, but not in the same way as a Parasite-Type exorcist. So why had Kisho been affected by Innocence that way? He had connected with Shiori's Innocence, but that suddenly didn't make sense, either….unless something had made them connect. Allen didn't really believe that some siblings could have 'psychic bonds'….recently a likely explanation was that their 'bond' had something to do with Innocence. Kisho had Innocence in his blood now. If he somehow had Innocence in his blood before he'd found a Heart fragment, then that would explain why the Heart had called to him. But no one knew if he had—not even Komui or Shiori.

"Excuse me," a female voice near Allen said, and he turned so quickly it made his neck twinge. A light brown haired woman with dark brown eyes was standing in front of him, and she was wearing a maroon blouse and a black skirt partially covered by a long black coat. She didn't look like she was from Portugal, or even Europe; she was a whole continent away from where she probably came from, which appeared to be somewhere in Asia. Allen hesitated, wondering if he should talk to her or not. He wasn't getting a bad vibe from her. She wasn't an Akuma, but there was something off about her, though whatever it was wasn't a reason for her to be ignored.

"Yes, ma'am? What is it?" He asked politely while smiling kindly, but cautiously, at her. She looked away, then back, and sighed.

"You were talking to yourself just now," she commented, and Allen felt vaguely embarrassed. He nodded once, a little red.

"Yes, ma'am, I was," Allen sighed.

"Did you say the name 'Kisho'?" She asked simply, surprising Allen a little. She could have asked about anything else—Innocence, the Heart—but she hadn't. Still, Allen decided to keep his thoughts to himself from now on if he was in public, even if there was someone he knew to talk to.

"Yes, I did…" Allen replied, his expression confused.

"It's just…." The woman trailed off momentarily, a clouded look in her eyes. "I had a son named Kisho, but he's not alive now. I'm sorry to bother you."

"Oh," said Allen, still on his guard but slightly puzzled. "No…I'm sorry to hear that…um….miss." He had no idea how common a name Kisho was, and decided that this woman was thinking of another person, but then a thought brushed against his mind. Lavi had mentioned to Allen in passing that he hadn't thought Shiori and Kisho were blood siblings, and that Shiori had confirmed it; her family had adopted him when he was little. Shiori's parents were both dead, but she didn't know where Kisho's were. They apparently had just disappeared one day—overnight, so no one had noticed until the next day. Shiori said she had been about to tell twelve-year-old Kisho about his real parents' disappearance when she had been taken away by Tiedoll.

"You're an exorcist, aren't you, young man?" The woman gazed calmly at him and Allen felt a pulse of warning.

"Yes. And I'm busy now, ma'am, so I should be going. Excuse me." He turned quickly and began walking away.

"If I was a Broker," Allen stiffened and reached for his left arm, "how would you treat me?" Allen whirled, his Innocence sword at the ready, but the woman was gone. He looked around rapidly, trying to spot her, but it was like she'd disappeared into thin air. He searched as much of the town as he could before finally deciding he should go tell the others about this. The woman could just have been trying to unsettle him, but she knew about Exorcists and she knew about Brokers, so he didn't believe that for long. Clenching his teeth, Allen began running back to Luzia's house.

* * *

**Lavi: Finally, we get to do whatever we want!**

**Allen: Yeah. Want to play cards anyone?**

**Kisho: Why not?**

**Lavi: As long as it's not Strip Poker.**

**Shiori: (Barking)**

**Kanda: Shut up, mutt! (Throws a slipper)**

**Shiori: (Catches and chews on it)**

**Lavi: Who volunteers to get new slippers for Komui?**

**Hyun-Ae: She does. She ruined it.**

**Shiori: (Stops chewing)**

**Allen: Kanda threw it.**

**Kanda: Shut up, bean sprout.**

**Kisho: What?**

**Kanda: Not you, brat!**


	43. Named

**First Note: Oh, there are some questions semi-answered in this chapter. I like it. I feel like I made the characters explain and act in a non-dramatic, and non-cheesy way which is how I wanted it to be 'cause stuff just happens. And if anyone who's reading this is following my other stories, namely the Tales of Legendia one, I am still working on them. But slowly. This story is first, then Tales of Legendia, then the other one about a book I've read called Silverwing. But that last one's taking a long time...it's the one that's really on hold.**

**Well, I hope you enjoy the chapter ^^ And the holidays!**

**Second Note: I don't own D. Gray Man or its characters, except the ones I put in the story. Hoshino Katsura owns the normal universe and the normal characters and events and abilities. I own some of the D. Gray Man mangas but that's all. And more allowed. I'm not being very original here but that's okay I'm hoping because it's just for fun. :)**

**Death Note: Whoops, wrong genre. Nevermind!**

**Chaoji: She was almost normal this time…**

**Shiori: Mm-hmm….**

**

* * *

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**Chapter 39 - Named**

Shiori let out what was probably her hundredth sigh as she trudged back to her room. She was staring at her arms, focusing and trying to activate her Innocence. She had never felt this tired. After eating lunch Hyun-Ae had tracked Krory and her down and they'd trained for a few more hours. Shiori felt like she was getting somewhere, but she hadn't been able to keep up with Krory and she'd been beaten up a little. Even when Krory was all growly, he had been an exorcist longer, and kept control of his Innocence better than Shiori. Oh, well. Shiori sighed but this time it was a nonchalant one. She just had less experience, and wasn't as good as the more seasoned exorcists. As long as she kept training and working to get stronger, then it wouldn't matter that she wouldn't be as good as everyone else…as long as she wouldn't be a hindrance to them. In order to completely be an asset to The Black Order, though, Shiori had to let the secret she had go….so she was going to go find Kisho. She'd been so hard on him when he broke the news of his secret to her, but she had one, too…and it had been kept longer. He was old enough to get it now. _I wanted to tell him two years ago… I could have written him, but writing something like that wouldn't work. _Shiori groaned and ruffled her hands in her hair. _Why did he get left behind, anyway? He's a good kid. He was a little unusual but that's no reason to ditch him…_

Shiori stopped abruptly, noticing she was standing outside of her brother's room. The door was open very slightly, like it hadn't been closed all the way because Kisho had been too tired to pay attention if it was completely shut, but at the same time Shiori knew he'd closed the door enough to get across that he wanted to be left alone. The door was only open a tiny crack; someone's fingernail couldn't have even stuck in the gap. Shiori got a knowing expression, and her eyebrows raised in pretend curiosity as she looked around. She then stretched her arms out like someone would when waking up in the morning; her right hand touched the door and it swung open slowly. Shiori peered inside; Kisho was curled up asleep in his bed, lightly snoring, the covers wrinkled in a bunch at his feet. He looked exhausted, and there were dark circles under his eyes that made his undamaged eye look bruised and his already damaged one more bruised. Shiori felt a twinge in her chest. She'd talk to him tomorrow, since she knew she'd be there because of the fact that her training to activate her Innocence in human form was still ongoing …but for now…

Shiori crept slowly into Kisho's room and pulled the covers up over him, the way she used to tuck him in when he was little. The female exorcist then left the room and carefully shut the door with a longing smile.

Shiori awoke to loud and insistent knocking on her door. Yawning loudly, she blinked her eyes a few times and took in several things: faint morning light was starting to stream into her room, and her bed didn't feel as soft as it usually did. Then she realized it was because she was on the floor, tangled in her bed sheets, her left leg and arm draped up across the bed. She was coming up with several scenarios of what she'd been dreaming about when someone knocked on her door again, louder and more urgently this time.

"You're the third bedhead I've woken up this morning, and I have permission to come in if you don't come out," a female voice said, and a moment later the door opened to reveal a cheerfully smiling Lenalee. She laughed when her eyes took in how Shiori was positioned by the bed. "Good morning."

"Good morning," Shiori replied, yawning again and trying to untangle herself from the sheets as she sat up. "What's going on?"

"You have a mission with Hyun-Ae and Krory," Lenalee stated simply, and Shiori did a double-take.

"What? Why?" She exclaimed, leaping to her feet and almost falling over because she was still tangled in the sheets. "I was going to go train!" She yelped and Lenalee appeared to be both bewildered and annoyed. "I'm not ready to do missions again so soon…am I? Not that I don't want to, I mean, but—" Lenalee held up her hands in a calming motion while she smiled understandingly.

"Hyun-Ae said you were doing pretty well yesterday, and that you have to stop training sometime and get back out in the field." Shiori glanced at the ceiling and rolled her eyes once.

"Is she serious? I just started—"

"You've been at it long enough, she said."

"A week is long enough?"

"She seemed to think so." Shiori grumbled crossly to herself.

"What got into her? Damn it."

"She's the lead exorcist on the mission," Lenalee explained with a half smile. "And you'll do fine. Have some faith in yourself." Lenalee crossed her arms thoughtfully. Shiori felt confused but relieved. "And that if you couldn't activate your Innocence, that you'd figure something out." Shiori stared. "Probably." She wanted to go on a mission, but it hit her now that she had to find Kisho quickly and talk to him. Although Shiori had been forced wide awake she was still a little groggy and didn't try to keep her emotions in check. Her fists clenched and she looked like she was going to punch something.

"I'm going to kill her!" Shiori changed quickly from her walk-around outfit of a white blouse and a long black skirt to her exorcist outfit; black pants with silver stripes, a light gray shirt, and a dark gray jacket over that. She had gotten used to wearing her collar and wore it to bed with no problem. After combing through her hair with her fingers, Shiori looked at it in the mirror. She decided that even if her short black hair looked like she'd done it in the dark she didn't care; shrugging resignedly Shiori followed Lenalee out of the room. "Have you seen Kisho?" She asked after shutting her door and starting the walk down to Komui's office. Lenalee looked over at her and nodded once.

"He was getting breakfast," she replied, then pursed her lips. "Why?"

"I need to tell him something really fast."

"It can't wait?" Lenalee asked, though saw from Shiori's tone and expression that it probably couldn't. How familiar this situation was, Lenalee thought. Not so long ago Kisho had been distracted like this and had pulled Shiori aside to tell her something important.

"No, it can't…but I really will make it fast." Lenalee hesitated, then exhaled through her nose and nodded.

"Alright. I'll tell my brother." Though, she hoped he wouldn't mind, since he was preoccupied by the fact that Allen, Miranda, Chaoji, and Emile hadn't gotten back from their mission yet. They were on their way back, and it would take them some time to get from Europe to Russia. But Lenalee was still worried. No more Akuma had shown up, and her friends were bringing back some refugees from the town to The Black Order. That sort of thing was rare, but Komui had made the decision in order to make sure that no more Akuma were created by anyone left behind after an attack. Something else had been making her brother upset, but he hadn't explained what it was, and so Lenalee hadn't pressured him to tell her. Her friends were all safe, so she didn't mind not knowing for now.

"Thank you," Shiori said sincerely, seeing that Lenalee was thinking deeply about something. Lenalee smiled, then walked off at a brisk pace while Shiori moved away from her and headed towards the cafeteria. Although not really knowing where it was, she found it by following its scent—cinnamon and coffee at this time of the day—and rushed inside. Kisho was just about to order breakfast at the window. He and Jerry were talking casually to each other, asking how things were going, when Shiori hooked her arm around Kisho's throat and, as a bewildered Jerry watched, dragged him from the room before either person could ask questions. Once she was in the hall again Shiori strode off quickly and didn't stop until she was a safe distance from the cafeteria and only spoke when she was sure no one was coming. "Kisho," she said, just charging into what she wanted to say, before she could feel bad about how abrupt she had to be.

"What?" Kisho asked, looking at her seriously with a questioning expression. He was about to say more, but stayed quiet and listened when Shiori put her hands on his shoulders.

"Do you remember any of the times when Mom and I told you that you weren't….really from our family?" Kisho's eyes widened and he was obviously taken aback by the question, but nodded hesitatingly after a moment.

"Well….sort of. I thought you were teasing me." He cracked half a smile. "We liked teasing each other, so I didn't take you seriously. I haven't thought about it for a while." Shiori took a breath.

"I wasn't teasing you then. It's true. Your parents disappeared one day. A few years after you were born, my parents became good friends with yours, so you lived with us."

"When did you notice something was wrong?" Kisho asked, his eyebrows furrowed.

"Your mom usually brought you to play with me, but that day, you wandered to house in the morning like normal, except no one was with you." Kisho stared at her, at a loss for words again, then remembered something he'd wanted to ask after talking to Bookman and Lavi.

"What about my name? It's stupid that I never noticed, but it's different." Shiori looked slightly surprised.

"Who told you that?"

"Uh…I can't remember his name," Kisho looked down and pretended to be thinking, realizing he could get away with telling half of the truth. He remembered Lavi, not his other name. "But it's true, then…we aren't really family."

"Kisho!" Shiori put her hands on her adopted brother's shoulders and squeezed them. "Yes, we are! Just because it's not by blood doesn't mean we didn't still love you like you were." Shiori put her hands on Kisho's shoulders and squeezed them sharply. "And about your name…" she hesitated. "Komui told me a while after I got here that a Finder had been sent to check on you and my mom, and everyone else in the town. That Finder—it was actually Toma—talked to my mom and after a while, she told him your real family name and what had happened with you, and with me. That information was put on our records later." Shiori waited quietly for her Kisho to say something.

"You were telling the truth all those times, but I just never understood," he spoke finally, his expression subdued. "I think that's what Lavi was talking about on that mission…about how I couldn't see something obvious. " Shiori could tell he was confused but he was keeping his emotions in control, unlike her. "I thought you were joking all that time to make me mad. And, granted, I understand if that had been what you were doing, because I did things to annoy you, too." Kisho laughed slightly and looked up.

"Yeah, but it would be low of me to joke at this point." Shiori admitted. "Everyone in our town was pretty close…it was small and most everyone had grown up together, gotten married, had kids, and helped raise those kids together. We all knew each other's family names, but because of that, never mentioned them. You grew up thinking that yours was the same as ours."

"Right…so…" Kisho rubbed his head and closed his eyes. "You have a mission, right? So explain whatever you want to me later." Shiori nodded, feeling slight relief that he didn't seem to be angry. Maybe he would be later, or maybe he was going to be angry soon. "I have to tell you something."

"But I…I haven't told you everything yet," Shiori protested, looking discouraged.

"I'm sorry, I really am….I know it's important but this is important too. I met Lavi and Bookman today, and something was wrong with Lavi."

"Something?" Shiori asked, alert, her face changing from dejected to troubled. "Like what?"

"When I called him 'Lavi', he said that wasn't his name. He thought I was joking around…it was really strange…and Bookman was acting strange, too. Something happened, and Bookman knew what it was, but he wasn't saying anything." Kisho recalled what their friend had mentioned earlier. "He said Bookman was mad at him, and he looked pretty upset when I saw him. It was mostly at me, though, not Lavi."

"I wonder why he was angry….if Lavi didn't recognize his name for some reason, maybe Bookman didn't want you to call him that?"

"That does make a little sense….but everything else doesn't." Shiori shook her head and Kisho put a hand to his forehead.

"Let's talk to Allen and Lenalee about it later," Shiori suggested. "It might make more sense to them, and I'm sure they'd want to hear about it even if it didn't." Kisho agreed with a nod; that made sense.

"They're probably going to sooner or later—it should be sooner. Even though we're all friends, they've known him longer, and I feel like they have more of a right to know…whether or not we'll be able to do anything about all of this."

"Good idea. It'll be after all of our missions, though…" Shiori said, looking distant, "and it could be a while. The places we're going are far away." Her eyes suddenly cleared and she lifted her head. "We're all going to come back, no matter how long it takes."

"That's right. You're all strong enough." Kisho agreed firmly, then carefully said, "You understand why I changed the subject, right?" Kisho asked carefully.

"Yes." Unexpectedly, Shiori threw herself forward and hugged Kisho tightly. "I'll be back, I promise. And I'll tell you everything else after we talk to Lenalee and Allen. And tell me you'll remember that names don't matter. We think about memories, not names."

"I'll remember," Kisho promised. "And I made things hard, I know." The two were quiet for a second. "Shiori…" Kisho said.

"Hm?" She asked, tilting her head a little.

"Happy Birthday." Kisho stepped back and smiled thoughtfully. "In three more years you can wear your Coming-Of-Age kimono." Shiori ruffled her younger brother's hair, making it even more messy.

"In six more years you can wear yours." Before Kisho could say anything Shiori smirked and said, "Do you want it to be red with pink flowers on it? Oh, wait…" Shiori pretended to look confused as she looked at Kisho. Women wore bright colored kimonos, and men wore dark grey or black kimonos under Japanese-style pants called hakama.

"Hah, hah," Kisho laughed scornfully. "Just because someone might mistake me for a girl now doesn't mean they will then." Shiori laughed and after a moment Kisho did too. "Good luck on your mission today."

"Thanks! I'll need it because of that Hyun-Ae…." Kisho almost smiled at Shiori's murderous tone. She didn't look back as she walked away, walking away quickly, since probably already late for the mission briefing. Rubbing his right arm, Kisho began walking slowly back to the cafeteria, wanting to eat something even though a hot feeling had settled in his stomach. It was unease, like he suddenly didn't fit anywhere. How was he supposed to react to this information? Although it was making him upset and disoriented, there wasn't much he could do about it. Two people having different origins didn't mean they had a sign taped to their back saying so. Kisho looked up and saw that he was entering the cafeteria again. Making himself look like nothing had happened, Kisho approached Jerry and said thanks because he'd waited and sorry about leaving so suddenly. He ordered his usual breakfast and took it to the table silently after grinning at Jerry and thanking him. Lavi, Noise, Lenalee, and Camille (Kisho felt a pang of unease when he saw her, even though he was glad she was feeling better) were sitting at a table and he walked towards them, smiling at their conversation and letting himself forget the situation for now. He and Shiori would talk later; Kisho didn't want to be asked any questions before Allen and Shiori were back.

Kisho slid his tray onto the table, sat next to Noise, and was soon laughing at the story Lavi was telling. As Kisho listened he realized it was when he hadn't been at the Order yet. It was when Lavi, Noise, Miranda, Chaoji, Lenalee, and many others had been going to Edo on a ship, after Allen had been found by The Asia Branch. _Edo._ Kisho thought. _We were so close to each other…eh, not really….Shiori and I lived a lot further north than Edo._

Lavi grinned and then began narrating. Kisho almost said something but held his tongue. To Lavi nothing had changed, so bringing it up would just cause a fuss. Kisho welcomed the feeling of relief that suddenly came over him. Lavi still seemed to remember everyone he knew, and everything that had happened up until now. For some reason it was only his name that had been forgotten. "We were about to get on the ship, and saw Miranda waiting, and then she activated Time Record and made the ship go back to before it had been damaged. It looked good as new and we were all really surprised, but impressed."

"She thought she'd overdone it and jumped into the bay," Lenalee recalled with a hint of a smile. Kisho looked up quickly, pausing just before he'd been about to eat a piece of the fish on his plate.

"And you made me go in after her," Lavi grumbled sourly, causing Lenalee to give him a look.

"You were panicking like the rest of us when she started to sink."

"I would have gone in and helped her a second later! You didn't have to push me." The redhead glowered around the table, causing everyone to laugh.

"I was just making sure," Lenalee giggled, and Lavi snorted, unconvinced, but became somber when she gave a sad sigh and spoke again. "That was one of the times that helped later…." Lenalee trailed off.

"Later?" Kisho asked, then tensed when Noise squeezed his shoulder in gentle warning. Somehow it came to Kisho in a quick burst of memories. The Finder looked up at Noise and inclined his head once, somewhat apologetically. After Allen and Kisho had escaped the Noah's headquarters, Allen had told him that Chaoji had been mistrustful of him once because he'd helped a Noah, and so had appeared to be on the side of the ones who'd killed Chaoji's friends, who had been killed on the Edo mission. _I might not be a great Finder, either. But as long as I can do something to help that doesn't matter._

* * *

_Why did they send us here of all places…wait, it must have been that harpy's idea!_

'That harpy' was Hyun-Ae, her new nickname courtesy of Shiori. And in her current state she wasn't making any sense. Komui had picked the mission location for them, and hadn't done it to spite anyone.

_I suppose the people here….well, they may be used to the smell. _Krory tried to just focus on walking as he pressed his right hand over his nose and mouth.

_Krory….I'm going to clear off. _Krory looked down at the wolf and agreed with her; she was staggering through the streets of London, which were clear for the moment since it was early morning. But there were still some people out, and each time someone walked by they gave the group a fearful or disgusted look and gave them a wide berth. _They'll give you a hard time if they think I have rabies and am an evil creature._ Shiori had discovered this in her previous travels; some places were more superstitious than others, and London was one of those places. She'd been chased out of a fair few cities because she was a wolf, an animal to be afraid of, and because her fur was black.

Somehow guessing what the two were thinking about, Hyun-Ae glanced at Krory surreptitiously. "Pretend to drive her off. Then we'll figure out how best to do this mission. Communicate our plans to Shiori from a distance if you can, but if not, we'll figure it out later." Krory swallowed, then ground his teeth and raised his hand towards Shiori, who didn't have to pretend to be startled.

"You filthy beast!" Krory shouted, swiping his hand towards her. Shiori darted out of the way, then flattened her ears and growled a little, but turned and ran when a kick was aimed in her direction—a kick not from Krory, but one of the townspeople, a man. Krory turned towards the man and managed to fix his expression into one of grim satisfaction. "That got rid of it." The wolf sped off with her ears still down and her tail tucked. Luckily the group was at the edge of London, where a thick forest of trees lay outside the city's borders, and Shiori was heading for it now. The man who'd kicked at the wolf shook his head, looking satisfied with himself but also tense.

"There have been rumors of creatures that looked like that thing running around at night. A beast even attacked a church full of people a month ago. Ever since then, folks have been upset, and scared to even sleep in their own homes."

"A church!" Krory exclaimed, shaking his head. "That's terrible," he murmured solemnly, and the townsman nodded, looking bitter.

"They say that many years ago a black dog attacked St. Mary's Church in Bungay. It killed two people and injured another. It left burn marks on the church's door. And not an hour later, the church in Blytheburg was attacked in the same way."

"Was it the same one both times?" Krory asked, now curious. Had those really been incidents of Akuma?

"No one knows," the man said, shaking his head. "But I wouldn't be surprised. Those creatures must be of the devil." Hyun-Ae and Krory exchanged interested glances, then looked back at the man and nodded respectfully. "For them to attack a church means they must be demons. And misfortune always follows them."

"That one appeared to be a normal stray," Krory said, sounding unconcerned, but not patronizing. "Still, though, it had better not come around here again." The man peered at Krory and Hyun-Ae, suddenly looking suspicious.

"It seemed to be walking very close to you, like it was used to you." Krory looked slightly surprised.

"No, sir," he said, and then kept his face confused. "It just began following us…probably wanting food. It was so quiet, I didn't notice at first. The thing must have had fleas. I appreciate your help in driving it off."

"Yes….it is better if they stay away. Well, I must go now. Keep an eye out for that beast. I propose killing it if it shows up here again, normal creature or not." Krory discreetly bit his lip as the man strode off. He sighed, then explained to Hyun-Ae that they should find Toma, discuss their plans of action, and then go find Shiori. She shouldn't come back into town.

Meanwhile, the aforementioned exorcist was feeling guilty that Krory and Hyun-Ae had to stay inside the stinky city. Horses and carts were widely used, and often, the street cleaners just couldn't clean their…._leavings..._up fast enough before the place's smell became unbearable. Hyun-Ae, having been to England before, had explained this to them on the way to London. The exorcist group walked past the Thames an hour earlier; Hyun-Ae had consequently pressed a white handkerchief from her pocket over her face, while Krory and Shiori just had to bear it even though they felt like passing out. According to Hyun-Ae, the people of London didn't drink water from the dirty river anymore. The city was required to start making cleaner water available but the Thames was still quite a sight.

Only when Krory and Hyun-Ae ducked into a bookshop did they get some relief from how everything smelled. Keeping their voices low as they stood by a secluded corner of bookshelves, pretending to browse through the books there, the two exorcists began to discuss their plans of action. By luck they'd found this bookshop which had been designated as the place where the exorcists would meet up with the local Finder later. Krory tried to mentally talk to Shiori but she didn't answer; either she was busy with something else, or couldn't hear him from this distance, but probably the latter.

"Akuma are hiding in this city, and there's also an Innocence nearby that they seem to only come out at night to look for. We need to get it before they do…and preferably destroy them before we find it, because that'll make the search go much easier. I say we start the search at probably….nine 'O clock." It was nearing the end of August so it still took a while for the sun to go down. "That'll give us enough time to hammer out the details and get some rest and food." Krory nodded.

"Luckily it's easier to work at night," he said. "I don't think the people around here like us that much," he observed darkly.

"Why would anyone like you?" A voice nearby snapped in an accusing undertone. Hyun-Ae and Krory glanced up. A blond-haired boy dressed in slightly tattered clothes—a brown shirt and short, scruffy pants—was glaring at them. "You're exorcists, aren't you?" Hyun-Ae and Krory exchanged glances, then looked back down at the young man. He was shorter, and probably a few years younger than Kisho…or older, and just wasn't very tall.

"We are. But we're trying to help." They didn't need to look twice to know that this boy didn't believe they were there to help, though, and sure enough their words just made his scowl heavier.

"Every time you show up, something bad happens," he growled quietly. "And you were with that wolf….you made it go away but you can't fool me. It's your familiar."

"Our familiar? No, she was just some stray that started following us," Krory said with the right mix of patience and frustration.

"I don't believe you," said the boy, his eyes narrowed doubtfully. "If you know what's good for you, then get out of here. You exorcists came here a lot of times already, and each time, the town was almost destroyed and lots of people died. A black dog attacked some people here. That thing earlier could be the one! And you planned for it to attack people so you'll keep being called back to work for people!" This was getting out of control. Before Krory could speak to try and calm the boy down, the store owner looked up angrily.

"Ezra, clear off! You cause enough trouble and I won't allow you to chase away customers!" When the boy didn't move, the owner—a man in his thirties with brown hair and simple clothes of a white shirt, blue tie, and gray pants—narrowed his eyes warningly and began to walk across the bookshop towards the three people. With a look of disgust, Ezra ran past him and out into the streets, which were more bustling now. "I'm terribly sorry for his behavior," the owner apologized sincerely. "He's got a reputation for being a troublemaker." With a shake of his head, the man gave a dark look towards the door where the boy had just run through. "He talks so much about those demons and exorcists that, for all his talk about how evil they are, it seems like that he's on their side."

"Thank you, sir, but it's quite all right." Hyun-Ae's reply was just as smooth and polite as the man's and he inclined his head slightly before returning to his earlier task of neatly arranging books on shelves. She sighed through her nose and turned to Krory, who was looking at the floor in concentration. "Did she get our plans before the brat so rudely interrupted us?"

"I think she might be too far away…." He replied after a second, looking up. "We should wait for Toma before we go look for her, though."

"Look for who?" A voice asked; Toma approached them casually and the cloth covering his mouth wrinkled a bit as he smiled at them. "Where's Kimura?"

"She ran off a while ago because we didn't want unnecessary attention. We still got some, unfortunately. The townspeople are wary of us, but don't believe we have anything to do with that 'demon'. A little brat that was in here earlier does, though."

"Ah," Toma sighed. "I believe I know who you mean. Apparently a lot of his family and friends were killed by Akuma, and he's been living on his own ever since. This town's been hit hard by Akuma, I'm afraid." Hyun-Ae shrugged indifferently and made a quiet scoffing sound through her nose while smirking wryly.

"How sad for him." Krory's lips pressed together and he shifted his feet while Toma shook his head a bit and looked outside. "Well, we have a lost dog to find." The female exorcist announced, stretching out her arms and cracking her fingers. "Let's go."

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**Author's Note: Did anyone notice my obvious and specific folklore reference in this chapter? xD A ghostly dog was said to have attacked two churches in England a long time ago. The dog's name was Black Shuck. There are legends (and a song) about it today. It supposedly haunts graveyards and dark roads—and people say that if you see it, you die. In Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban this ghost dog was mentioned and referred to as the Grim.**

**Anyway, after brainstorming ideas I thought, ooh—this ghost dog could actually be an Akuma that was causing all the mayhem and influencing future popular culture. Black Shuck is a song by British band "The Darkness". The song mentions Blytheburg Church.**

**Other stories say that Black Shuck a protective spirit, though, particularly of women and it will help them find their way home. Big thanks to Wikipedia and for the information.**

**And thank youfor reading! **


	44. Gratitude

Me: More OC's. WHEEE! Yeah, maybe not good? Or good, depending on how they are and what you think? But anyway, finally here's the next chapter. I've been writing a lot! I'm almost to chapter fifty now. I'm feelin' good because I'm still writing, and because I'm almost done with Finals! Just one more tomorrow—Intro to Ethics Final. I think I will at least not fail. Bahahah. Enjoy the chapter! I do not own the characters except my little village of original characters, and none of the names, or anything you know doesn't belong to me. Hm? Oooh what's this button on the keyboard do? (Screen goes black) What? Oh no. Oooooh noooez. Oh, it came back. It was just a Sleep button.

**Kanda: Don't do things if you don't know what will happen.**

**Me: That reminds me. There's a door in a building on my campus that says "Do not open. Dangerous to health." It was such a blatant, specific warning that I was surprised. Usually it's just "DO NOT PRESS!" and I do and oh look, I just made the space shuttle launch.**

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**Chapter 40 – Gratitude**

Shiori bent her head down towards a small flowing creek and sniffed it extensively. The memory of the Thames was still glaringly clear in her mind and she wanted to make very sure that this little creek was safe to drink from. She could smell and hear some things than people could when she was a wolf, but usually it meant that some smells and sounds affected her more than usual and made them hard to ignore as demonstrated earlier. Sometimes she heard sounds that didn't seem to bother anyone else. Krory also had a few enhanced senses, such as smell and especially taste—he thought Akuma blood tasted good while Innocence-filled blood tasted bad. Raising her head, Shiori sniffed the air, then sighed and decided to sniff the water again to see if it was safe. She lowered her head and felt something whiz between her ears and heard it splash into the creek. Immediately, her ears lowered and she spun around, body low as she began moving quickly across the forest floor, trying to avoid another projectile. After looking around Shiori had spotted where the thrown object had come from; a young boy with blond hair. He raised his hand and threw something else. The wolf avoided it and saw the boy pick something up. Finally she saw that he'd been—or was—throwing rocks at her, she thought while continuing to dodge the stones. She'd acted afraid when Krory had driven her off and had run away, but when someone attacked an animal that was something else. The young boy threw one stone that missed, then another that glanced past the wolf's shoulder.

Shiori had watched how some dogs—mostly strays—across the countries she visited behaved when they got chased away from garbage bins, restaurants, and people. She also watched how they acted when animal catchers tried to get them. Some more meek or aggressive than others, and Shiori learned that using a mix of those traits was a good way to survive. If she'd acted fiercely all the time, she'd probably have been killed by animal control. But learning how to behave like an actual canine had also come in handy when she'd been trying to get leftovers from restaurants or cafés before other stray animals did. Some had tried to bite Shiori, and she'd quickly figured out to stay away from dogs with that kind of temperament. If she got diseases from them then she'd have been on her own. But most stray dogs acted the same way; if humans drove them off from someplace, then most ran away. If humans approached them angrily and tried to hurt them, most reacted defensively. If humans tried to do either of those things to cats, Shiori had observed with approval, then the cat would just stare derisively at them or hiss, which usually would make the person give up or back off. Shiori couldn't hiss, so she put her ears forward and felt her fur lifting up. The boy hesitated, but soon was bending down to get another rock to throw. Shiori's teeth bared as a growl rumbled in her throat and her tail lifted.

"You aren't scaring me," he shouted, and Shiori snorted. This person was obviously scared; his body was trembling and his jaws were clenched tightly, but she could still hear them rattling faintly. "You keep out of the city! No one wants you there, and your friends should leave too!" Shiori stared at him for a moment, then hid her teeth and flattened her ears, momentarily confused. The young boy's eyes were welling up. Shiori stepped back."You and your useless friends!" He angrily threw the rock with a yell.

* * *

Toma stood up from where he'd been examining the soft forest floor. "These are probably her footprints," he said, looking towards where they went. Another set of footprints, human ones, were beside them.

"Someone followed her…but not an adult," Krory observed, concerned.

"If I had to guess, I'd say that child from earlier could have followed her," Hyun-Ae said, scowling. "But he couldn't be a problem, could he?"

A startled yelp echoed through the trees and the small group exchanged a glance. "There's your answer," Krory said as they took off towards the sound. They hadn't been running for long when they came to a clearing with a small creek nearby. They spotted Shiori and Ezra immediately. Shiori was trying to back away while pawing at her face, and Ezra suddenly pulled a knife and began approaching her. Krory, Toma, and Hyun-Ae reacted instantly; Shiori looked up and saw what was happening, but when she did, the ordeal was almost over. Toma rushed up on Ezra's left and punched the back of his hand, causing him to yell and release the knife, Hyun-Ae grabbed the knife in midair, while Krory quickly slipped his arm around the boy's throat. Shiori's ears perked and she barked.

_Krory, get away from him!_ She screamed mentally, and he did, just in time to avoid the second knife Ezra had stabbed backwards towards Krory's midsection. He approached the exorcist again but Shiori snarled and charged him, knocking him forward onto the grass and pinning him down. Hyun-Ae knelt down quickly and held the knife to the boy's throat.

"I'd think again if I were you, brat, unless you want me to bleed you to death." She pushed the blade a little closer into his skin.

"Alright!" Ezra choked out. "Don't kill me." Shiori got off of the boy's back and leapt clear, and Hyun-Ae backed quickly away after grabbing the second knife. Krory had moved aside to a safe distance as the young boy ran out of the forest as fast as he could. Krory and Hyun-Ae watched until he was gone, then the male exorcist turned to Toma and Shiori while Hyun-Ae kept watching in case for some reason he decided to come back. The Finder was kneeling in front of Shiori and checking her left eye. Krory tapped Toma's shoulder.

"She said that kid threw a rock and it hit her in the eye."

"You're lucky he didn't get to stab you there," Toma sighed, stretching Shiori's eye open so he could examine it. "It looks like the cornea got scratched a little, but it should heal in a day or so."

_Thank you_.

"She said thank you," Krory interpreted, then faced Shiori. "You need to stay out here, but on the very edge of town so we can come and get you when it's time for us to go out again."

"And also so nothing bad finds you. Keep hidden," Toma advised, then reached into his bag. He pulled out a small bundle, unwrapped the handkerchief around it, and gave a large bun with thin beef and cheese slices in the middle to Shiori. She looked at him and wagged her tail. "There's a place to rest and eat on the other side of the Thames, and that's where we're going to rest and plan our next move." Toma explained. "If you need to find us, go across the Thames, and you should be able to find it easily. Plus, if I'm not mistaken, you could follow our scent, correct?"  
_Well, I could try….if the city's smell isn't clogging everything up. I'll come when it's getting dark and you can fill me in with the basics. I'll have less of a chance being seen in the dark, and at night I think it won't smell so bad. _Krory told the others what she'd said. Toma and Hyun-Ae nodded approvingly. "I say we go there while we plan out what we're going to do tonight." Shiori followed the trio to the edge of the woods and sat under a tree, not too near any of the ground foliage, because she didn't want to catch any bugs from them. Unfortunately, though, there were a lot of them teeming around the trees. Toma examined them and told Shiori that although some would probably bite her, if she stayed away from them, she'd be fine. Then they left, leaving Shiori alone to eat the sandwich Toma had given her. "If anyone asks about Kimura, don't say anything about her except that she's just some stray that you chased off," he instructed along the way.

"I can do that," Hyun-Ae agreed with a slight smirk.

At the bistro, Toma focused on informing the two exorcists of London's situation. "I have been in London for a few days, but I haven't been able to see any Akuma." Toma began speaking in an undertone. "I have heard rumors that some night creature has been roaming around. That's probably the Akuma that only comes out at night. Luckily it hasn't seemed to have found the Innocence yet, so we still have a chance."

"I just heard from a man that a creature, something like a black dog, attacked a church a month ago. I think that could be our Akuma." Toma agreed and Hyun-Ae jumped into the conversation.

"Tonight, I say we should split into two groups and look for it. Krory and I can search together, and Toma, you can take the dog for a walk. Is that alright?" Krory and Toma nodded once.

"That's fine with me," Krory replied.

"I brought two Golems." Toma pulled a black Golem from his pocket and handed it to Krory. "Let's spend a few hours trying to find out as much as we can about any strange occurrences here. First we'll just listen to see if anyone's still talking about anything that could be related to Akuma or Innocence, and then approach those who look like they may know something and won't mind being asked about it." Toma paid the owner for the bread and cheese they'd gotten as a little snack to get some energy; he'd brought something for himself but had given it to Shiori since she couldn't come into town. Although businesses gave exorcists free food and board, they were trying to lie low because this town seemed sensitive to the presence of exorcists. Hyun-Ae was wearing a blouse, and Krory a shirt and tie, and both were wearing black pants, part of their normal uniform, but hadn't worn their organization coats (it was still summer, thus too hot for the heavy black coat), so they didn't have The Black Order's insignia cross showing.

The group left the bistro and wandered through the town. Toma stopped them after a short time. There was a courtyard nearby that looked like its function was a meeting place; chairs, tables, and people stood or sat around talking leisurely. Women either had wide hats on or were holding parasols. "We've come into the higher-class district. We probably won't fit in, but….I think people like them are polite, for the most part. If we ask, they'll likely help us." Hyun-Ae and Krory split up to interview people, while Toma walked casually over into the courtyard, then approached a couple slowly and began speaking to them. They didn't seem bothered, but they did look puzzled and slightly worried. Hyun-Ae, while browsing through shops, asked a few storeowners if they'd heard or seen anything unusual, and Krory did the same thing as Toma, paying careful attention to spot people who didn't look like they'd mind being approached.

Toma, Hyun-Ae, and Krory continued talking to people and it took a couple hours. The time crept along and soon it was getting on towards six in the evening.

"Most people I talked to had heard rumors about strange things happening in the night, and they remembered what happened here a few times with Akuma. But only one person thought he'd seen something moving around at night, and said the thing had been following him. He got back home and apparently nothing happened after that. Probably the thing that saved him from being attacked was that he'd gone to a large house where a party was going on, and it was well-lit. For some reason this Akuma doesn't want to be discovered, even if it could just try to destroy the whole town. I wonder if it likes living here…anyway, it's time to go back. We should get some food and rest until it's time to go out again." The trio walked back towards the bistro to share more of their stories, and once they were there, they continued talking in hushed voices. Hyun-Ae went next.

"I left that courtyard and headed town towards the middle-and lower-class districts while I asked some shop owners questions. It seems those areas are more vulnerable, and a favorite place for the Akuma. A large bunch of people have disappeared from there. And more people have seen things at night, and some even near dusk when it's still a little light out."

"No one I talked to had seen anything, but they'd heard plenty of rumors. I hear more black dog rumors, and that some believed a curse of sorts was afflicting London. It has to be the Akuma."

"So the Akuma are bolder in the lower districts of the town." Toma held a hand to his face. "Maybe we should start there. I only found one instance of a possible Akuma sighting in the upper-class area. We will work around to that area a bit later, though." Krory and Hyun-Ae nodded.

"Yes," the black-and-white haired exorcist agreed.

"Whatever floats your boat," Hyun-Ae sniffed.

"Let's take this time to rest," Toma was saying. "Until it gets dark. We'll go get Kimura before we set out." Toma and Krory had a room to share, while Hyun-Ae had one to herself. Krory went right to bed, having gotten fatigued from walking around in the sun all day, while Toma sat in a chair by a desk in the room and relaxed, but didn't sleep. He told Krory that he'd gotten rest last night before he'd gotten here, and that he would wake them up when it was time to leave. So Krory rested his head on the pillow, closed his eyes, and gradually fell asleep.

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**Oh, thank you for the music, the songs I'm singing...thank you for all the...meh? Ooh sorry this is the next part huh? Nyahah continue please.**

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"Yo, shrimp."

"Lavi? You're back!" Kisho studied the redhead's face and thought Lavi looked a little grim. "Why are you looking at me like that?"

"Come here, Kikun." Lavi approached Kisho and leaned over him, tapping his foot. "If you call me by a nickname, then I'll use yours all the time, too." He hooked an arm around the kid's neck and began dragging him down the hall. Kisho had just come from the room across from that one, which had training equipment the same as the room exorcists usually trained in, but although the training regime for both was strict, it was a little varied. Both exorcists and Finders worked on endurance, reflex, agility, strength, and flexibility, but exorcists worked a little more on fighting, while Finders worked more on defense. Emile and Toma had been training Kisho there for a couple hours each day; a few hours in the afternoon, and a few in the evening. Kisho had been learning about knife defense there and today had started using one a little. But he didn't have the basics down yet—he'd have to be good at defense before Emile and Toma would teach him how to use them. Kisho had been practicing on his own today since Emile and Toma were both out on missions. Toma, Shiori, Hyun-Ae, and Krory were on a mission together, while Emile, Allen, Chaoji, and Miranda were almost done with theirs.

"What? And you already call me that all the time," Kisho exclaimed, startled, trying uselessly to pry Lavi's hand away, but like usual, the redhead was a lot stronger than him.

"Just listen. It's urgent." Lavi held a Golem near Kisho's face. Every exorcist and Finder had one even when not in the field in case there was an emergency. "Komui called me, you, Lenalee, and Kanda to his office. I almost didn't recognize his voice." Lavi's jaw was set, and there was some sweat breaking out on his face. Kisho had hardly seen him like this. "He sounded way too serious for Komui."

"Did he say what was going on?" Kisho dared to ask. Lavi shook his head quickly.

"No, just to come see him." Lavi and Kisho's hearts were thudding with grim anticipation. Lavi had dragged Kisho swiftly to Komui's office and when they were inside he finally released his grip on him. Kisho was standing next to Kanda, but a shove from the much taller exorcist pushed him over towards Lavi's right, and he didn't need to be told twice to stay there. Clearly, the Ohm incident was still bothering him; it probably would for a long time. Lenalee was standing next to Kanda and she was shaking a bit. Komui looked at the three exorcists and one Finder, then spoke.

"Allen, Emile, Miranda, and Chaoji will be back a few days. Their mission was a success. They found a Heart fragment that is now synchronized with Chaoji. It was because of Chaoji and Allen that they defeated the rest of the Akuma." Kisho and Lavi exchanged wondering expressions. "It was to my surprise that Allen was the one who found the Innocence."

"Bean sprout couldn't find anything if it punched him in the face," Kanda growled incredulously, causing Lenalee to frown at him, and to Kisho's amazement, he didn't say anything else.

"How did he find it?" Lenalee asked in a hushed whisper, glad that everyone was safe.

"That's what is surprising," Komui replied, looking relieved, but worn out at the same time. Lavi could tell there was more to what had happened on the mission—he sensed that Komui had told them the good news first. "Each member of the mission told me what happened, and it seems to be almost exactly like what happened on your mission," he gestured to Kisho and Lavi, "in Sweden." Lenalee and Kanda looked over towards them; Lenalee's eyes were wide in astonishment, while Kanda's were narrowed in something like scorn.

"It called him?" Kisho asked, dumbfounded, and Komui nodded. "It's because he has Heart particles inside of him…." He'd just figured it out, but it made sense now. That was why Kisho could find it….but then again….that was before he'd gone to find Allen, before the Heart had healed both of them. Why had he been able to find the Heart fragment in Karlstad? If Allen had been able to find an Innocence fragment because it had called to the Heart particles in his blood, then in theory, nothing should have happened when Lavi and Kisho had been on their mission. Emile had known where it was though, so it probably would have taken the same amount of time no matter what had happened. Maybe a little less time if Emile had been leading them to it, since the Finder and Lavi had been trying to figure out what was wrong with Kisho instead of setting right out to get the Innocence before an Akuma did.

"That's interesting," Lavi broke in, "and I think you might be right. But this isn't the entire story, is it?" The group looked back at Komui, who shook his head once.

"No, it's not. Allen and the others would have been back earlier, but as you know they were prevented from coming back on time…..because a Broker was manipulating the situation. I believe that originally the Broker just was attempting to get someone to call the Earl, but when he heard that there were exorcists there, after Allen, Chaoji, and Miranda destroyed all of the Akuma, he sent more to destroy the whole town." There was a soft thump; Lavi and Kisho leaned forward and looked over to see that Lenalee had fallen to her knees. On impulse Kisho ran behind Lavi and Kanda so he could try to help Lenalee but Komui threw a coffee cup at him; Kisho looked up and held out his hands, catching it before he knew what had happened. Even if he'd caught it so that it was upright, he was relieved to see that it was empty, because anything inside would still have sloshed out. "Don't you dare touch my Lenalee!" Komui shrieked, losing his composure for a moment, in spite of the situation. "You'll never marry her!"

"I don't want to marry her!" Kisho protested, holding up his hands (the coffee cup was in his left hand), hoping Komui wouldn't throw another cup that really did have coffee in it.

"Why? You don't think she's good enough for you?" Kanda's teeth clenched and he closed his eyes like he had a headache; Lavi crossed his arms and sighed heavily.

"Brother!" Lenalee shouted, distressed, standing up as Kisho backed away to his original position like a spanked puppy. Komui blinked and adjusted his glasses, then gave a lopsided grin of apology to his sister.

"I'm sorry, Lenalee." She gave him an annoyed frown; Komui's grin flickered. "And Kisho."

"Forget about it. Really," Kisho mumbled, looking at the floor.

"Well, as I was saying…" He began speaking again like nothing had happened. Kisho listened but tried not to make eye contact with Komui; instead he looked at the coffee cup. It was dark green with a picture of Lenalee's face on the bottom. He turned it back over quickly and winced. If Kisho ever developed this much of a sister complex, he hoped someone would slap him across the face, and if anyone was going to, it would probably be Shiori. "Miranda del Douro is just rubble now, and a lot of the townspeople were killed, but I told Allen and the others to bring some refugees with them. Even those that still had families elsewhere…well, they'd lost friends, so we decided to bring them here and explain to them what happened." Komui fumbled with some papers on his desk. "No Akuma pursued them, and so far their return journey has been uneventful." No one said anything. Relief was still written on Lenalee's face but the situation was still grave.

"The Broker probably got away," Lavi grunted.

"With luck he was killed along with the others," Kanda said, and scowled.

"She, actually," Komui corrected. "The Finders in the surrounding countries are on the lookout for her. There has been an order issued to capture or kill her on sight. No one knows if she's still alive or not. Allen is the only one who got a good look at her. Apparently, he talked to her some time before the town was attacked again. She has light brown hair, dark brown eyes, and she's probably a few inches shorter than Allen, and according to him, she asked about Kisho." Again the attention was back towards Lavi's side of the room, except the redhead was staring at Kisho too now.

"What did she say, exactly?" Kisho asked, trying to keep his face and voice indifferent.

"She asked if Allen knew anyone with your name. But then apparently said that who she was thinking of was really someone different." Komui looked closely at Kisho and asked carefully, "Does she sound familiar to you?" Kisho shook his head, though it was hard to tell unless he saw her for himself. But still, no one he'd met had met that description, but he thought about it, though his answer still ended up being negative. Even with the scarce physical information they had about the Broker, she wasn't familiar to him. And honestly, he hoped he'd never have anything to do with a Broker, unless he was going to try and kill one. That thought made him uncomfortable, but it was overtaken by a wave of anger. Brokers were enemies who would sell out innocents just for money or glory or some other selfish reason. Looking at the others, Kisho saw they were having similar thoughts and feelings.

"Are you sure there aren't any more Akuma in that town?" Kanda asked. "What's left of it at least."

"Finders will keep an eye out for any that may have escaped. For the moment, though, no, there aren't. And I'm against sending anyone back out there until we know more. It was important for you to know everything. Thank you for coming so late." Komui half-smiled at them. "Be sure to get enough rest." Kisho moved forward suddenly and put the coffee cup back on Komui's desk.

"What about Shiori?" He asked. "The mission with Hyun-Ae, Toma, Krory, and Shiori…what about them?"

"They are still looking for the Innocence and Akuma in that town. They've heard some rumors and are still searching. It seems that the Akuma that's there comes out at night." The last thing he wanted was another confrontation with Komui. "When I know more about the situation, I will be sure to tell you what's happening."

"Alright. Thank you." Kisho liked Komui, but as he turned and departed from the room, he knew that even people who were friends with someone knew when not to push their luck. He felt compelled to wait for everyone to leave to ask if Komui knew anything about why Lavi had acted so strange, but wondered if—like Bookman—he would be able to or want to say anything. And Komui was busy enough already...Kisho wanted to tell them now, even if they weren't all here. But Shiori thought waiting was a good idea, and Kisho trusted Shiori. Besides that, though, she was an exorcist, and if that's what she'd suggested Kisho do, he was going to obey her.

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**Note: Whew, well one more chapter uploaded! Now I really do have to go to bed so I'll be ready for my final.**

**Adding a little more drama….setting down some stuff for later….hoping it'll be good. I think it is. ****Whether I suck on the final or not (hope I don't) I will be done with school tomorrow. Buh-bye classes for this semester! Then I can finish the rest of my Christmas shopping! DOODS IT'S LIKE A WEEK AND A HALF 'TILL CHRISTMAS! When my sisters and I were little it used to take forever to come! I remember making those little paper chains in elementary school and tearing a link off each day to countdown to Christmas Eve.**

**Happy Holidays again! ^.^**


	45. Black Shuck

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I have my own little colony of OC's now, don't I? They could have a very small country to themselves…called OCtannia…like Britannia, except with OC's.

**It was before Christmas the last time I updated…sorry! Things got busy, but I was typing all that time, and I think I'll upload two chapters now. Feel free to drop a comment with feedback because if you like the story, I want to hear it, and if you don't like it, I'd like to hear how I could improve.**

**Enjoy! :)**

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**Chapter 41 – Black Shuck**

"What do you want?" Ezra demanded, attempting to sound tough while trying not to touch the side of his face where he'd been struck. A tall man was standing over him.

"Those exorcists. You don't like them either, do you?"

"No," Ezra answered, and looked down sullenly. "I just want them to go away." The child couldn't see it in the dark, but the man grinned widely.

"We can do that."

Toma crept quietly through the town, listening hard for any suspicious noises. Beside him Shiori was padding silently through the streets, also listening for signs of the nocturnal Akuma. As she listened, she was scenting for it, as recently she'd discovered she could smell where Akuma were. Right now, she just had a faint scent—somewhat sour and musty—of the Akuma and was trying to follow it. Both of them were wary, their senses on high alert, but for the moment they weren't in any immediate danger. Krory and Hyun-Ae were also off in another part of town searching for the Akuma. If either of them found it, there would be a message relayed through the black Golems they carried. One of these Golems was fluttering between Toma and Shiori so that they'd both be able to hear and send an emergency message. The one with Krory and Hyun-Ae was a normal black Golem, but the one with Toma and Shiori had been modified to be able to relay spoken messages as well as thoughts—specifically those of Shiori, since she couldn't talk in her current form. The theory was that the Science Department had designed it to pick up on the specific brain waves related to thought, which then were spoken aloud through the Golem. Static crackled as someone began speaking on the other end.

"_Stop making so much noise," _Hyun-Ae was saying. Toma and Shiori glanced at each other. _"You'll make us easier to find."_

"How are things?" Toma asked after catching their Golem out of the air.

"_Fine," _Hyun-Ae replied annoyed Shiori. Hyun-Ae was similar to Kanda in the social relations aspect. But Krory was usually quiet. Why was she telling him to be quiet?

"I know that this is obvious, but call us immediately if you spot anything," Toma said, and a grunt of confirmation from Hyun-Ae was heard.

"The monster that the people mistook this Akuma for is called Black Shuck, and it was said to have attacked two places at once," Toma explained to Shiori, since she'd been hiding in the nearby woods for most of the day because the townspeople had been (rightfully, Shiori sullenly acknowledged) suspicious of her.

_I hope that doesn't mean there is more than one Akuma here,_ Shiori thought, even though Toma couldn't hear her. _If there was, we'd just have to fight it, but it could get hard in the dark…_

"It worries me that we don't know how many Akuma there could be, or what level. But based on the rumors….it seems to be powerful. There are talks of scorch marks being left behind, and that the monster appeared during a thunderstorm…" Toma continued, sounding concerned, though his expression couldn't be seen very well in the dark. Shiori could see pretty well in dark places, so every now and then she'd brush up against Toma when they had to turn a street or go around an obstacle. It was dangerous to walk around in the dark, but if they had a lantern, then they would attract even more unwanted attention—from both people and Akuma. Hoping it would help her catch the scent better, Shiori let her mouth open as she sniffed the air for a scent of the Akuma, but it was as faint as ever. But without warning a scent so strong hit Shiori's nostrils and she staggered backwards as if someone had hit her in the face. Her fur bristled and she growled loudly, then lunged forward just as something shot past. Toma ran after her when the exorcist tore off in pursuit of the shadowy figure. She was fast but Toma kept her pace pretty well and was running just behind her. He stopped right when Shiori did, and looked at what she was growling at. It was hard to see what the figure looked like in the darkness of the night, but one thing about it stood out very clear: large, glowing red eyes leered at them from the darkness.

Whatever it was seemed to be made of darkness. Shiori began circling towards the left and Toma followed; the eyes began moving towards the right. They had flicked briefly towards the Finder, which had made his heart jolt with alarm for a moment, but now they were focused intently on Shiori again. In the dark Toma squinted and managed to see what she was doing; there was an alleyway behind the Akuma—what else would give off this sense of fear—and Shiori lunged forward suddenly, chasing the Akuma into the alley where it would find a dead end. But instead of stopping, it made a mighty leap and cleared the high wall above them with ease. Shiori stared upward with wide, shocked eyes and gauged the height of the wall. Tensing her muscles, the wolf sprang upward, but only managed to leap a little more than halfway. Her claws scraped against the brick and tried to hold onto the gaps in the bricks. She'd climbed something even taller than this before and managed to get through that; this wall was nothing. But suddenly a claw swept towards Shiori from the darkness and in order to avoid it she had to fall back down towards the ground. She landed evenly on all four paws and tore out of the alley; Toma jumped aside, then took off after her.

"There's a way around that wall—keep running," he instructed as they ran towards an open space in the city. "Over the wall is an alley that comes out into this square." Just as they reached the corner, a dark blur appeared and Shiori sprang for it and managed to slash her teeth across it enough to draw blood, and she immediately backed away to avoid getting it on her. She took up the chase again but the figure had vanished and she stomped a paw in frustration. Toma came to a halt beside the wolf and she looked up at him and wagged her tail once, telling him thanks for giving her directions. But the Finder could tell she was frustrated that the figure—probably the Akuma—had gotten away. "We'll find it. It probably won't leave us alone."

_And it's hurt, so it might be easier to find it. _Sniffing the ground, Shiori recoiled in disgust but then sniffed the small blood splash again; and it definitely smelled like Akuma. She growled and set off.

"Definitely the Akuma, then. That's good." Toma said, figuring out that she was tracking its scent again, and that it was stronger this time because she'd drawn blood that was leaving a trail. Shiori heard Toma communicating to Hyun-Ae and Shiori that they'd spotted the Akuma and that it was moving towards them. The exorcists were on the other side of town, cross the river. Toma and Shiori had just crossed the Thames and were quickly getting closer to them.

"_What did you do to yourself, stupid mutt!" _Hyun-Ae's angry voice crackled over the Golem fluttering along between Toma and Shiori, who exchanged sharp glances.

_Who are you calling stupid, you harpy! _Shiori thought into the Golem, but Hyun-Ae seemed to not have heard, or wasn't paying attention, because she yelled again.

"_Krory, hold on, I have to….uh, Krory?"_ Toma and Shiori were getting a bad feeling.

"_What are you looking at us like that for? Hey!" _The next thing they heard was a yelping cry and an astonished scream from Hyun-Ae. _"Stop, Krory!"_

"What's going on?" Toma grabbed the Golem and shouted into it.

"_Krory's attacking the mutt!" _Shiori felt her heart drop and she stopped tracking the blood trail in alarm.

"Kimura's with me!" Toma shouted.

"_Huh!" _Hyun-Ae exclaimed, sounding dumbfounded. _"This…this thing's the Akuma! Krory attacked it!"_

"We're almost there!" Toma let go of the Golem and it flew swiftly, keeping pace as Toma and Shiori began running as fast as they could. Shiori began following the Akuma's scent again and hoped that Krory still had the upper hand on the Akuma, who probably had wanted to get refuge with the exorcists, and then attack when they were focusing on something else. Toma heard the sound of something howling up ahead and saw shapes moving in the darkness. Upon getting closer Shiori managed to see that Krory was biting into the Akuma, who looked exactly like her. The wolf-Akuma was thrashing around and howling in pain, and Hyun-Ae was standing nearby, looking like she was ready to stop the Akuma if it tried to run away. She could create barriers that stopped attacks, and she'd recently learned to make a force field that held Akuma back. Shiori bared her teeth and ran around the Akuma, then charged it and dug her fangs and claws into it. The wolf's teeth and nails began to glow green and the Akuma howled its pain even louder as Shiori ripped long slashes in its body. Suddenly Krory and Shiori were thrown clear from a spark of lightning that came out of nowhere, and the Akuma tried to make a break for it, but Hyun-Ae was ready. She activated her Innocence and put up a transparent green barrier, and the Akuma smashed into it and slumped to the ground. Krory pounced on its body and bit into it once more, but there was no need—the Akuma faded away into dark particles which also vanished after a moment.

"Tricky little…." Hyun-Ae sniffed, then briefly looked at Shiori and Krory. "Are you two alright?" Krory got to his feet, rubbing his head, and Shiori coughed a couple times.

_Something smells like cookies._ Shiori looked over her shoulder, then whined and frantically began rolling on the ground, putting the smoking parts of her fur out. Krory also felt his hair and tried to smooth the charred parts of it down.

"What was that?" He growled crossly. "Is there another one?"

"Maybe," Hyun-Ae said, "but look what this one left behind." She bent to pick up the glowing object. "Innocence. I don't know why it was that weak." Before her hand brushed the Innocence, a dark blur shot past and snatched it out from under her, leaving two long scratches across the back of her right hand. Her eyes flew wide and she grabbed it.

"Show me!" Krory commanded and Hyun-Ae uncovered her hand. It was bleeding, but nothing else was happening to suggest she had gotten hit with the Akuma virus. Then the group remembered and leapt to their feet, chasing after the second Akuma.

_Like hell it's getting away! _Shiori snarled and put on a burst of speed and tore after the fleeing Akuma. It was similar in shape to the previous one, but a tiny bit bigger, and it wasn't an exact copy of Shiori. It looked exactly like the black dog the people of London had been describing. Within a minute Shiori was in jumping range, and she leapt swiftly, tackling the Akuma to the ground while sinking her teeth in deep to its flank. She was still being dragged along, though, but managed to lift her right front arm and anchor her nails firmly into her target's body. She then released her teeth long enough to pull herself forward and bite again, this time into the back of the Akuma's neck. She raised her other arm and dug her nails in and yanked as hard as she could, trying to bring the Akuma to the ground. She glimpsed the bright object falling from its mouth, and her heart skipped a beat in relief, but suddenly its fangs were coming for her and she barely managed to move enough so they sank into her shoulder and not her face. The Akuma snarled at her, and she felt something grip her that made her snarl back and swipe her claws towards her enemy. They slashed across its face and then the two let go and began circling each other threateningly. Without warning they sprang at each other and rose up onto their back legs, biting for the other's vital spots. When Shiori managed to get a bite or slash in, the Akuma would return the injury. The combatants suddenly leapt away from each other and began circling threateningly again, their fangs bared and deep growls cutting into the night air.

Shiori's paws twitched and she lunged for the Innocence that was lying on the ground, then flicked out a paw and swept it away from the Akuma's lunging jaws. It was trying to consume it and get stronger, but Shiori knew it was strong enough already—maybe a Level Three—and she didn't need any more problems. She heard her comrades running up behind her but she focused only on the Akuma's movements. It feinted, and she followed, but managed to dart back when it went in its intended direction and lunge with her jaws which made it back off. Suddenly, the Akuma's jaws bared, but not to let Shiori know that it was about to attack. It was a sinister grin that stretched the Akuma's face wide, revealing teeth sharper than Shiori's could ever hope to be. The lupine exorcist tensed and prepared herself but was still taken aback when electricity began to crackle and make the Akuma's dark fur stand on end. This had been the source of the shock that had knocked Krory and Shiori off their feet earlier. A bright yellow flash lit up the night and Shiori skipped to the left, missing a charge that left a black scorch on the ground.

_Krory! Get it! Get the Innocence now! _She shrieked mentally, and as she dodged another shock, the wolf glanced over to see if he was running to get it. He was, but was suddenly blocked by something dark and huge—the wolf Akuma. It bent down to reach for the Innocence, but a figure darted up and got it first, then started to take off but was pinned down by the Akuma. Krory moved towards it but something blocked Shiori's vision. Then a blast of electricity seared her face and she abruptly jumped away from it, but bumped into the Akuma, who still had its unnerving fanged grin; like its earlier feint, the Akuma had trapped her again and was building up for a charge. Shiori's eyes widened; it felt like a strong one. She felt her fur standing on end and knew that she was seconds away from being shocked. The exorcist tensed her legs and was just springing away when the Akuma lunged forward and bit her left shoulder, dragging itself with her and discharging its built up energy. Shiori fell to the ground and began writhing. She felt her body burning as the charge travelled through her. The wolf's her mouth gaped open as if to voice her pain but no sound came out. She was breathless and noticed her vision blurring until she couldn't see anything, and she couldn't feel her body or anything else except a burning pain.

When the pain stopped, Shiori was too dazed to realize this and still couldn't see or feel anything. As someone shook her, she began to see blurry shapes and made out some figures leaning over her. She saw someone a short ways away who was moving around a lot, and then saw a flash of yellow light and a yell of agony. The figures standing over Shiori slowly they became clear—it was Toma and someone else…someone familiar…but only faintly. Then the wolf realized. It was that kid from earlier who'd thrown a rock at her. Feeling that some control over her body was coming back, Shiori moved her head to the side and saw Krory a few feet away struggling with the Akuma; his fangs were clenched firmly into the back of its neck, and the Akuma's struggles were growing weaker. Suddenly it went limp altogether and Krory dropped it, but the Akuma had faded away before it hit the ground. It seemed like light had been shining from inside of it just before it had disappeared.

"Kimura!" Toma yelled urgently. "Can you breathe?" The wolf nodded weakly and felt Toma pressing a hand to her chest. "Do you hurt anywhere?" Shiori shook her head once, then let it drop back, too tired to look around anymore. But she felt it being lifted up and supported by someone's hand. "Your heart's beating fine. Krory got the Akuma off of you just in time." Now that the shocking had stopped, Shiori felt a little better and tried to struggle to her paws. Toma sighed. "Good. You can move." Waving her paws like she was running, Shiori dug them into the ground and managed to stand up but swayed slightly. "Is your vision clear?"

_Yeah, a lot better…'cause it stopped…_

"She said it's better," Krory muttered, and Toma nodded, then stood up sharply.

"Can you smell anything, Kimura? Like any other Akuma nearby?"

_No. I can smell something burning—it's probably me—but no Akuma. Not even a bit._ Krory almost smiled.

"She said no." The Finder nodded, looking relieved. The fur around Shiori's shoulder was burned off and the skin, torn from the bite and damaged from the Akuma's electricity attacks, could be seen. Krory's sleeve had been burned off and he had similar blister-burns from the lightning.

"Let's get somewhere safe and recuperate." The group began walking quietly but quickly away from the battle site. Shiori kept up well but she was limping, and the only place that was hurting still was where she'd gotten bites and cuts from the fight, and the place in her left shoulder where the charge had entered her body. Not soon enough, the tired group of people reached the inn, where the owner was still up at the counter. Toma got rooms and convinced the man to let Shiori come up with them. The young boy, Ezra, followed silently behind them as they went to their rooms, too.

"What are you still doing here?" Ezra asked accusingly in a low voice, and Hyun-Ae turned sharply and glowered at him.

"Watch your tongue, you little monster," she warned. "Don't forget who saved you." The female exorcist pointed to Krory. "It was him. No, make that all of us. If I were you I'd get down on my hands and knees and beg forgiveness."

"Well," Ezra snapped loudly, "I'm not you! And I would never want to be."

"Ungrateful," she spat. "I'd rather you have gotten killed tonight."

"Kim, that's enough," Toma said evenly, throwing her a warning glance. "He got the Innocence away from that Akuma and gave it to Krory. But you shouldn't have. It was dangerous." Toma asked as he lifted Shiori up onto a bed.

"I was looking for those monsters," the boy replied with a scowl. "I wanted to kill them. They've been around for years, and they're the ones who killed a lot of my friends and family."

"Well, they won't anymore. Those monsters are gone now." Toma gazed steadily at the boy. "You have these people to thank. They're exorcists, and they hate those monsters as much as you do. They would never make them attack people on purpose. Do you understand?" Ezra fidgeted and backed away, frowning, and glanced warily at Shiori.

"Why is that here? Isn't it one of the monsters?" He asked angrily. Toma looked up briefly from examining Shiori.

"No, she's not. She's an exorcist too." Ezra blinked.

"An animal?" He exclaimed incredulously, and Hyun-Ae's frown turned up into a smile.

"I know, hard to believe she could do anything, isn't it?" Ezra was dumbstruck; Hyun-Ae seemed to secretly be enjoying herself—the edges of her mouth were just barely turned up in a smirk.

"She's...it's a familiar, though. A demon. She's a monster too!"

"She's a human too," Toma sighed. Ezra's mouth fell open. A soft white light made him blink, and when it subsided, a woman in black and silver clothes was sitting on the bed.

"It-it-it's a werewolf!"

"Is the moon full?" Shiori asked, grimacing as she held a hand gingerly over her left shoulder. "No it isn't. Now calm down before you faint," she said seriously, noticing the child's quick breathing and trembling legs.

"Hyun-Ae, Krory, please come here," Toma ordered calmly, and when they were on either side of him, he turned to the Korean exorcist. "You were taught how to treat burns, correct?" She nodded. "Could you treat Kimura, please?"

"Yes, sir," she replied, subdued, and when Toma moved aside to treat Krory she knelt in front of Shiori. "Now do what I tell you. If you do this won't hurt." Shiori gave her a sarcastic grin.

"Of course it won't. Want to give me a big injection, too, nurse?"

"I'll give you a shot in the arse if you don't shut up." Ezra jumped and Hyun-Ae glanced over her shoulder at him. "I learned the rest of my English here…."

"Of course," Shiori said, again sounding sarcastic. "I think you learned the swear words first," Shiori snorted, which earned her a cuff over the head. For ten minutes Krory and Shiori kept the burned parts of their body immersed in cold water. Hyun-Ae shut the bathroom door, then forced Shiori into a cold bathtub full of water while Toma shook his head at the commotion they were making and filled up a small basin that he had in his shoulder bag. Toma convinced Ezra to help and the boy got a washrag wet with warm water and soap and gave it to Toma, who washed the burned area carefully, then sponged it dry and wrapped a bandage firmly around it. A moment later Hyun-Ae came out of the bathroom tugging a morose-looking Shiori along by her collar.

"Good girl. You didn't have any broken bones from the shock, but you'll be sore for a while. You don't need stitches for those cuts or bites, though I thought you and that Akuma were going to tear yourselves apart." Shiori grunted. "They don't look like they'll get infected but tell me if the bandages start to look nasty." The other female nodded morosely. Even if they were both the same sex, being forcefully stripped down was hard for Shiori to be unconcerned about, especially when she had so many scars on her body. Looking at the other woman's face, it didn't seem that she cared, since she never seemed to really care about anything, but still Shiori felt uncomfortable that she'd been seen with a body that was so damaged. But she put aside her thoughts for now and watched Hyun-Ae gesture to a bed that was pushed against the wall. "Now sit down and lift your arm over your head until you go to sleep. Before you ask, it'll make the swelling go down."

"Great."

"Good job," Toma said, nodding appreciatively at Hyun-Ae. "Thank you."

"Whatever," she replied with a shrug, then looked around. "Where'd the brat go?"

"He said he wanted to leave," the Finder replied.

"Was it a good idea to let him go?" Krory asked, also raising his bandaged arm above his head. Toma folded his arms.

"I know I could have forced him to stay, but I felt that he wouldn't do anything rash. And in spite of all this, I think that he's actually moved on from his family and friends' deaths."

"I didn't see that." Hyun-Ae murmured.

"He just wants to make sure nothing bad happens because of Akuma again. If more people had his mindset, then, well…." Toma trailed off and stretched his arms. "I say we all get some sleep. We'll change your bandages tomorrow morning." Shiori slid off the bed she was sitting on and followed Hyun-Ae to the door. Toma had gotten two rooms for the group to stay in—one for the men, one for the women. "Good night."

"Good night," Shiori replied with a friendly look backwards, while Hyun-Ae waved her right hand indifferently by way of farewell.

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**One more chapter for now, and then, maybe I'll upload some more after it since I've taken two months to upload these.**

**And again, the Black Shuck legend is a real legend. I thought it would be fun to take real legends and make it so that people saw Akuma and made up stories about them—that they were monsters or ghosts, etc.**

**Thank you for reading!**

I don't own the characters of D. Gray Man. I only own my OC's and the occassional new Akuma I create...so yes! There we go, I shall not get arrested. Hopefully. Youtube has soooooo many restrictions on what music to use now...hopefully Fanfiction doesn't become as stuck up as Youtube because a bunch of people got together and sued. *cough* And you didn't hear that from me. xD


	46. Trailing

**Author's Note: Oh, well, there's nothing much to say. I'll just get on with it. I don't own D. Gray Man or the characters except the ones I make up. Thanks for reading and hope everyone's liking it! If people take the time to read it I want to do my best to make it good. ^.^**

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**Chapter 42 - Trailing**

Komui gazed levelly at Allen and interlocked his fingers, resting his chin on them. "You seem to be sure that they are related. I doubt that she'll try to take him. More Brokers than just her have abandoned their families for some personal gain."

"By taking him," Allen questioned warily, "do you mean she'd make him join the Earl's side?"

"Yes," Komui replied, looking distant. "But I assume he'd refuse. Children rarely want to turn out like their parents, after all. And he wouldn't see her as his real mother, even if she is." Allen looked at his shoes and thought for a moment, then looked back up at Komui.

"What about the refugees?" He asked. "There were enough rooms for them, and they seem alright for now to stay here, but when they want to leave…what then?"

"I've thought about that," Komui replied. "They know about what attacked them, but don't have a name or information to put with them yet. I'll get help to explain the situation to them, and when we're certain they understand, most of them will probably just leave to start their lives over again somewhere else." The group of refugees had gotten smaller as the return journey to Russia progressed. Now only a handful of them were left over, including Luzia, her aunt, and a few others. To the best of his ability, Emile had explained to the refugees that had left along the way what the Akuma were, who the Earl was, what he did, and as much as was necessary for the refugees to not become targets of the Millennium Earl. Most had left after hearing the explanation and promising to be careful—Allen hoped they really had understood—before leaving. The ones refugees that now remained at the Main Branch were the ones who'd had some desire to travel in the first place but hadn't ever had the means or opportunity.

Allen was glad to be back home—it had taken almost all of a week to make the journey back to Russia—but rather than feeling completely comfortable, there were some problems to think about. That Broker and Kisho, for one, and the refugees from Portugal, the other. Not to mention the fact that the Earl was getting more violent and sending out Akuma left and right, attacking any town, no matter how sparsely or densely populated it was.

"Wait." Shiori spoke up so suddenly after having been quiet the whole time that Allen jumped a little. "You met someone you think is Kisho's mother? His birth mother?"

"It was a guess," Allen admitted, "but it's been looking more and more like the right one. That woman and Kisho have the same hair, eyes, face…and if Kisho's hair was longer, and if he had….if he was a girl…" Allen vaguely gestured towards his chest. Shiori held back a laugh. "…then they would have looked even more alike." Allen chewed on his thumbnail while he rubbed his head awkwardly with his left hand. "I didn't get it right away, but after she mentioned his name…."

"But she said that her Kisho was dead, didn't she?" Shiori interrupted, and Allen nodded slowly. "My Kisho's not dead."

"What if she thought he was?" Allen asked. Shiori glowered at the floor and didn't say anything.

"Excuse me," Komui said, causing the young adults to look over at him. "But you told us that Kisho's parents just disappeared one night, and that no one knew what happened to them, is that correct?" Shiori nodded once.

"Yes, and Kisho came to my house the next day, alone. His mother usually brought him so we could play together. But he hadn't been coming for a while. My mom went to see what was wrong, but she just told me that Kisho was sick when she came back." Shiori's tone became low and her eyes clouded. "One day he came on his own, though. It was…scary," the female exorcist said bluntly. "He looked like he was dazed, and blood was all over him…dried blood. And we knew something was wrong because it didn't look like he cared about having blood on him. I still have nightmares thinking about what happened, sometimes."

"You said dazed? Like when he goes into a trance to find Innocence?" Allen asked after gently touching Shiori's shoulder to get her attention. She nodded, then her eyes widened in realization. "And like with what happened to me now, too."

"Maybe he was in a trance then, too," Shiori exclaimed fervently, "because of Innocence!"

"Had either of you ever come in contact with Innocence at that time?" Komui asked curiously, and Shiori's excitement faded.

"No. At least, not that I know of. Maybe something happened to him…maybe he was born with it but it didn't appear in any way until then."

"If he did have Innocence," Allen assumed, "but it affected him that way, then it could mean he wasn't compatible….or he was doing Finder stuff even back then." Komui straightened up, looking like he'd thought of something.

"Allen. Miranda, Chaoji, and Emile reported to me that you destroyed some of the Akuma that appeared. You were in a trance when they attacked, so that could mean you fought instinctively, right? And you told me you don't remember doing any of that on your own." Allen hesitated.

"Right. I remember doing some of those things…but not very well. It's like I was asleep and dreamed it—except that I knew it wasn't a dream."

"What are you saying?" Shiori asked, feeling that Komui was building up to something important, but she wasn't able to figure it out just yet so she hoped that Komui would explain it; the Chinese man interlocked his fingers ponderingly and closed his eyes.

"If Allen was under the control of the Innocence inside him, and it made him fight back when he was attacked, then maybe something similar happened to Kisho. Some danger could have appeared the night his parents went missing." Allen put a hand to his face in thought; Shiori tried hard to remember.

"I heard my mom talking to a neighbor once. They'd gone to search Kisho's house. There was blood—as if that wasn't a sign of a struggle—but there were also things broken, and marks in the floor like something was dragged. Maybe something did happen…but no one knows what. No one heard anything."

"Something doesn't make sense." Allen was frowning and looking frustrated. "If he was born with Innocence, maybe he used it that time, and that's why there was blood—maybe he destroyed an Akuma that showed up somehow."

"Do you think the blood was from an Akuma?" Komui watched Shiori's face; she appeared as confused as Allen.

"We never had anything like them until when I was fourteen—seven years later. And that night, besides the Akuma, something strange happened. I woke up before the attack, sometime, and Kisho wasn't in his bed. I went to find him, and found him lying next to a house a houses away from ours. He looked like he was asleep but I couldn't wake him up, so I carried him back home, and that was when the attack started. I don't remember anything after that except waking up on a ship and being really confused." Komui's eyebrows suddenly lifted as if he'd been taken by surprise.

"Is your being really confused different from any other day?" Lavi's voice asked from behind them; Allen and Shiori whirled to see him standing with his hand on Kisho's shoulder. "I found this eavesdropper standing by…the..." Lavi had trailed partially off because of the tense looks he was receiving.

"I'll come back later!" Kisho offered quickly, but didn't move in time before Lavi grabbed his arm and pulled him back into the room. He looked from Shiori to Allen to Komui.

"Could you stay?" Shiori asked. "And Lenalee, too?" Komui's sister had just appeared behind Lavi and Kisho and was looking concerned.

"I should clear off, I'm guessing," Lavi stated. "That's alright. I was really just walking by when I saw Shrimpy here. See you later."

"Kisho," said Komui sternly, but his expression was mild. "How much did you hear?" Looking like he'd been caught with his hand in the cookie jar, Kisho looked away and smiled weakly.

"I heard everything starting from when you talked about that Broker." When no one spoke Kisho hesitantly looked back at everyone. "I could have knocked, or kept going…the door was almost shut, anyway…sorry."

"Well, well…what do you think about everything you heard?" Komui asked, his eyebrows raised.

"I don't want to leave," Kisho declared resolutely, but his expression was slightly anxious. He turned red and looked down, continuing in a quieter voice. "I'd never go to their side, sir…not even if they were going to kill me. And I think they might someday." Shiori and Lenalee flinched as if something had hurt them and Allen narrowed his eyes while Komui closed his. "They know a little about me…so they'd want to find me…it's just because I have it coming, sir…that's all. I'm trying to prepare myself for it so I'll be able to…." He fell silent and looked at Allen, Shiori, and Lenalee. "…help you guys."

"We all have it coming…but we won't go down so easily," Allen said with a reassuring tone. Lenalee's gaze travelled across the room.

"What were you all talking about? About that Broker?" She asked slowly, her expression unsure as she glanced at Kisho. "She can't be your mother. She could have just been some strange person…" Shiori suggested meekly and Kisho was still for a moment, then he shook his head.

"I don't know." His faced darkened. "I want to say she's not."

"Until we know more, maybe you shouldn't think that. I just wondered, so I mentioned it." Allen lifted his shoulders, shrugging. "It doesn't matter now, anyway. We're on the lookout for her and if we find her, we treat her like any other Broker."

"Right…." Kisho murmured, only half-paying attention. This Broker could be related to him…but she was an enemy, so that didn't matter. Right now he didn't fully understand how it would be to kill someone, even if he'd killed an Akuma already, but still he knew Allen was right. There just wouldn't be any way around it, no way to change her mind and make her leave the Earl. "Shiori, we can figure it out sometime. I heard what you probably were going to tell me before you left. I'm sorry I ended up eavesdropping to hear it, though."

"No…we just…I needed to explain…and I can still tell you more later…okay?" Shiori stumbled over her words a little and bit the inside of her lip, and was beginning to feel a little unhelpful, but Kisho nodded and smiled understandingly. "We do need to talk about that other thing, now." Komui, Lenalee, and Allen glanced at the siblings curiously.

"What do you mean?" Lenalee asked.

"Well, Kisho met Lavi and Bookman earlier…" Shiori began, and got a glimpse of Komui's expression before it became mild again. Whatever had gone on, he knew—but then again, he cared about everyone and would know…even if sometimes he seemed a bit too off-the-wall.

"This was happening a long time before you two got here," Allen stated. "As a Bookman, Lavi's supposed to document events in history, not be a part of them. He can't get too attached to anything or anyone…"

"But he did?" Shiori asked, puzzled. Allen nodded.

"And now Bookman did something to take away the knowledge he had of being an apprentice Bookman," Lenalee murmured.

"Modified his memories…" Komui murmured, catching everyone's attention. "I was informed by Bookman that he was going to do this…I attempted to persuade him not to, but he told me that if there was going to be another Junior Bookman in the future, then Lavi couldn't remember anything he learned as a Bookman. That also meant abandoning his aliases."

"And now his name isn't Lavi anymore, you said?" Lenalee asked Kisho, turning so quickly that he flinched slightly and stepped back.

"That's right," he replied, trying to keep himself calm. Lenalee wasn't going to hit him or get upset; she just had some questions. "It was…something that was…started with an…" Lenalee nodded and Kisho tensed. "I can't remember." When she looked frustrated he added, hoping he could do something helpful, "I can ask him. He would just think I forgot again, so it would be alright."

"None of this will be alright," Lenalee said in a reprimanding manner, leaving Kisho somewhat relieved that he didn't deal with girls and relationships yet. A few of the females Kisho knew he seemed to make angry without even trying. With a furtive glance at Komui, the fourteen-year-old noticed that he wasn't giving him any warning looks so he relaxed a bit.

"I mean…..Lavi told me I could call him that if I wanted, and maybe one of us could talk to Bookman and convince him to make Lavi back to normal." Allen turned to Komui.

"He's not training another Junior Bookman now, is he?"

"Not now," the man replied, "but he just left to search for someone to take that position." Kisho gave a frustrated grimace and was about to rub his forehead when he felt someone put their hand on his head.

"Take it easy," Shiori said with a concerned smile. "You're my little brother. I can take care of you, can't I? You're going to wear yourself out some day."

"Me? You two just got back from a mission and had a long trip. You should be taking it easy."

"Why don't you all take a break?" Komui suggested. "Go get something to eat and go to bed early." Shiori gasped excitedly and suddenly pulled Kisho closer to her.

"Let's go to the new springs after that." Everyone was upset about what was going on, but Lavi was still with them, and they were thankful for that. There still might be something they could do about what had happened, but as long as Lavi was still with them—name or no name—they realized that they couldn't stay upset for long. "Well, Lenalee and I would go to the women's side, and you and Allen to the men's side, but I think we could yell over the divides and talk to each other."

"I haven't been there yet," Allen admitted, "but it sounds great. Let's do that." Waving goodbyes to Komui, the group of friends headed down to the cafeteria, ordered their meals, and ate in a somewhat awkward silence until Lavi, Miranda, Chaoji, Camille, Toma, and Emile showed up. Conversation lightened up after that and once they were all done eating they headed to the outdoor springs, all still laughing about a story Lavi had told.

"I wouldn't think it would be bad to do that," Shiori giggled, "but I guess in some places it can be."

"Yeah," Lavi chuckled. "No one told them the rules, so all of the people went in without their bathing suits." After that, the men and women in the group split up and headed into the separate areas to get ready and grab dry, clean towels that were in a wooden chest. There were bathing suits for people to wear; the girls got black one-piece bathing suits while the boys got black swimming trunks. The sides were divided into mens' and women's sides because bathing suits were optional and most people preferred the sides to be separate anyway.

"Kikun," Lavi said abruptly once he, Allen, Emile, and Kisho were in the mens' side of the springs, and the young Finder turned.

"What?" Kisho asked, turning just in time to see Lavi rush at him. With a firm shove Kisho fell backwards into one of the pools.

"What the hell—" He yelled, then splashed into the pool and came up shouting, "BASTARD! It's freezing!"

"At least you're at harmony with the outside world," Lavi snickered over Allen and Emile's laughter. "But get in a hot pool if you want. It tingles."

"Get over here, dammit!" Kisho jumped out of the pool and started chasing Lavi around with a furious look on his face.

"What are you boys doing?" Camille shouted from the other side, sounding worried.  
"Don't run in here! You'll slip and crack your head open!"

"Oh, I'll crack his head open, alright!"

"Kisho!" Camille scolded.

"Alright, I'll stop!" Reluctantly Kisho climbed into one of the steaming hot pools and hissed as his skin got used to the temperature. Allen got in the same one, while Lavi and Emile climbed into one a few pools away. Kisho took a deep breath and went underwater for a few moments, then came back up with a splash. He gave a long sigh. "This feels great. I'm coming here a lot in the winter, that's for sure."

"Who do you have to thank for them?" Lavi called, chuckling as he leaned back in the hot water and rested his head on the edge of the pool.

"Thank you, all-mighty one, for providing us with this luxury," Allen said while bowing mockingly.

"Don't forget who dug most of them!" Shiori called snappishly from the other side.

"That doesn't count. Dogs like digging," Lavi said dismissively, grinning even though she couldn't see it. "Oh, sorry, Miss Canis Lupus."

"That's what I thought."

"We all worked hard fixing up this place," Allen sighed, his eyes closed. "So we should just enjoy it."

"That's right. You should be quiet and polite like us," Lenalee called. Kisho and Allen laughed and looked over towards the wooden divide that separated the two groups of people.

"Quiet?" Allen repeated suspiciously. "Then what's all that splashing we hear?"

"Oh, that's not us," Miranda said. "It's a duck." The males exchanged bewildered glances, then looked towards the wooden divide. They would have asked to go over and see but the wooden wall encircled the whole springs area, and they didn't want to sneak into the women's changing room. They probably wouldn't be allowed to, anyway.

"A duck? There's a duck over there?" Kisho asked, sitting up straighter, still hearing the splashing.

"Uh-huh. She's pretty cute."

"How'd she get there?"

"You know how birds do that whole flying thing, and all," Allen chuckled and Kisho swept his arms through the water, causing a wave to splash over him. "Hey!" He exclaimed, splashing him back.

"Oh, you made her leave…" Lenalee said gloomily. "She's coming to see what's happening over there." Allen and Kisho stopped splashing, but before they could say anything a form passed over the divide and touched down in one of the cold pools behind Allen. He turned and stared at the bird, who began swimming calmly in circles.

"A female mallard, I think," Emile observed glancing over, "but I'm not sure. It's a little too dark now." The moon had come out a while ago and was casting bright light over everything, but it wasn't bright enough to see very far.

"She's in the wrong side. The scandal!" Camille laughed. The duck quacked a few times, swam to the side of the pool, and climbed out. Then she began waddling over towards Allen, who didn't move when she walked by. The duck stopped suddenly and looked up at him, and he reached out a hand gingerly and touched her on the head. The animal seemed to like it and let Allen stroke her under the chin for about a minute. He smiled as the duck walked over to Kisho. He held out his hand to her like Allen but her head flashed forward and she nipped him. The teenager stared at her but jerked his hand back, startled, as the duck began flapping her wings and quacking.

"What did I do?" Kisho asked, somewhat nervously. As far as he knew, no one had been injured seriously by a duck, but this one seemed pretty worked up.

"Maybe your blood tastes funny," Allen remarked, noticing a little dark spot on Kisho's hand. "She really got you. Guess you made her mad somehow."

"Maybe she wants to eat you," Shiori called teasingly. Emile frowned.

"Stay still, and she'll probably calm down," he said. "If you don't know what is bothering an animal, it's best not to make any sudden movements."

"Alright…" Kisho responded, pulling his hand back and inching away from the duck, but she followed him. "Oh, great," he muttered, but tried to sit still like Emile had told him. His arm was resting on the edge of the pool and the duck bent her head down and nipped him again, harder than before. "Ow! Damn it."

"What are you doing to her?"

"Nothing! The duck's going crazy!" Kisho pressed his fingers over his right palm. "I think she really might want to eat me." He frowned at the animal. "Weird animal." The duck started quacking loudly again and ran over to Allen, who lifted his hands out of the way just in time; the duck nipped thin air but attempted to jump and bite his hands. After a few moments, the female duck stopped jumping and walked away slowly, almost dejectedly. When Allen lowered his hands in relief, the duck whirled around and rushed him, biting her beak into his left hand.

"Maybe she's got the hots for you two," Lavi snorted.

"What the?" Allen yelped, shaking his hand, but the bird was stronger than he'd given her credit for. But he managed to toss her off with a strong shake of his hand and she went flying towards Kisho, who lifted his hands instinctively and caught her. With a glare, Allen stood up and reached for the duck. "She's going back to their side! Maybe that's why she's upset over here." As Allen held out his hands, the duck slipped free and landed with a splash in the water. His hands accidentally clasped Kisho's. "Come here!" Allen shouted, but jolted when a brief burning sensation went through his hands. Quickly he yanked his hands back and stared at them. "What was that?" He muttered.

"I don't know." Kisho and Allen got out of the pool and sat near the edge but the duck looked calm now and wasn't trying to bite them anymore.

"Women—so unpredictable," Lavi said, and protests came from the other side of the wooden barrier.

"What was that?"

"Hey!"

Kisho slowly got back into the water and gingerly reached out his right hand and the duck let him touch her. "Lau Jimin acted like that sometimes."

"To you?" Lavi asked.

"To General Cloud Nyne and me," he responded. "Usually only when both of us were in the same place together. We decided it was just because we both were exorcists. But it probably wasn't just because we were exorcists—I'm not one anymore after all—but because of Innocence."

"Innocence does make nature behave strangely," Emile pondered out loud. "And Lau Jimin is essentially an animal." Lavi yawned, and that set off a chain of yawning, first with Emile, then Allen, then Kisho. "Seems like it's time for bed." The group nodded agreeingly and stepped out of the hot pools and headed for the changing room.

"Goodnight, ladies!" Lavi called pleasantly as they left. Kisho glanced backward and saw the duck walking calmly behind Allen and him.

"She probably flew here and decided to take a rest, but what if she ends up staying?" Kisho wondered as he watched the duck trail after them.

"Tell Komui, I guess." Allen held up his hands. "Maybe he'd like having a duck around here. Who knows?" Upon leaving the changing room in their respective uniforms again, the group passed Kanda, who did a double-take when he saw the duck following them and Lavi swore he almost laughed.

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**Yes, there was some random weirdness in this chapter but I'm like that. I have to have some weirdness to balance all the seriousness (and probably confusing crap) I put in here. I also try to explain everything that's going on in my head the best I can, maybe too much, I don't know. But anyway, leave some reviews—I want to hear what everyone thinks about the story. Good reviews are nice, but if they're reviews about not liking the story (or the characters, or whatnot), then tell me what I can do to improve. :) Please and thank you!**


	47. Using

**Here we go! It's been a while so I'll get to the point. I only own my original characters (there really are a bunch now, and at most a couple more will be introduced later, but probably only in a few chapters unless I decide to use them for bigger things) and none of the original ones. Our favorite manga artist and author, Hoshino Katsura, does. Enjoy!**

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Howling Innocence Chapter 43 - Using

"Welcome back, you two!" A cheerful Lenalee exclaimed when Lavi and Krory took a seat across from her in the cafeteria. Kisho and Toma halted their conversation and turned towards their friends, then upon seeing them, tried to hold their grins back. The two exorcists were bundled up tightly with scarves, hats, gloves, and their exorcist coats were zipped up all the way. They awkwardly handled their spoons and tried to eat hot soup through their chattering teeth, but once they'd had a few mouthfuls, they seemed to warm up and stopped shivering.

"How was Kenting?" Lenalee questioned eagerly. Krory and Lavi's mission had been located in southeast Taiwan. "I bet it was warm!" She said with a faraway sigh.

"Oh, it was warm, alright," Lavi responded, letting out a sigh, and sipped at his soup again.

"It was too hot for everything we were wearing," Krory explained, "and we looked even more out of place than usual." Lavi nodded agreeingly.

"If we hadn't been so busy, we'd have hit the beach." The redhead set his spoon down and pulled his gloves off. "I forgot all about it being November there, but once we got back, bam. Good thing the hot springs are finished." Kisho shook his head and tsk'ed.

"You need to eat cold things in the winter. Then you'll be aligning yourself with the outside world." Lavi scowled at him.

"When did you start believing in that inner peace garbage?" Lavi waved a hand. "The outside world is freezing." He scowled darkly and eyed Kisho's drink. "What are _you_ having, then, Mr. Harmony?"

"Milk tea," Kisho replied, then held up his glass and waved it in Lavi's face a few times. "It's cold. Want some?" Kisho smiled cheerfully when Lavi glowered at him; he knew that since it was pretty warm inside thanks to various fireplaces—there were two large ones in the dining area, and because things were always being cooked that added even more warmth to the room. When in a warm room like the cafeteria lots of people could be seen having cold food or beverages despite it being early winter. In the rooms there were heavy curtains over the windows, warming lamps, and heavy blankets on the beds for the denizens of The Black Order to use when it was cold at night. But Lavi and Krory had just gotten back and even though the large room was warm, they were still chilled from the early snowfall and harsh wind blowing outside.

"I'll throw it in your face if you do that again," Lavi warned Kisho with a menacing grin.

"You make a mess, you have to clean it up. I wouldn't have asked you to throw it, now would I?" Kisho laughed. "So watch what you're doing with your hands." Lavi began slowly lifting his middle finger.

"Too late." Toma, Krory, and Kisho started laughing, but Lenalee, who had been looking around for something looked back just after Lavi lowered his hand and innocently began scooping up vegetables from his bowl.

"What's so funny?" She questioned, looking impatiently at each of them.

"Nothing," Lavi, Toma, Krory, and Kisho replied quickly, trying hard to look casual.

"Does anyone else hear that?" Kisho asked, looking around when he heard a strange noise. When Lenalee's face scrunched up with doubt, Toma bent down and reached for something.

"Actually," he said, straightening up, "we all just noticed a new arrival." He chuckled while setting a brown duck in the empty space beside him.

"Oh, it's Marbelline! I thought I heard her," Lenalee gasped, smiling and standing so she could walk around to pat the female duck on the head. No one really knew how the animal had arrived at that name. Lavi had first called her Mar, but Toma thought it had been Marb (even if no one knew what that meant), Chaoji had called her Marbel, while Kisho remembered her name being Marbly, then finally Lenalee had called her Marbelline. That was the only name that had stuck so far and the duck's name had been Marbel just a few weeks ago. The whole thing, while a little confusing, was kind of funny.

"Camille and Emile really like her," Lenalee was saying. "They both study birds." Marbelline waggled her tail. "Everywhere they go they see what kind of birds live in the area. Camille can't go on missions for a while, so every chance they've gotten, they go bird watching together."

"How romantic," Lavi groaned sarcastically.

"When will she be able to go on missions again."

"March or April sometime…that's what they told me," Lenalee replied. Kisho again felt uneasy about the subject and didn't know why. It didn't seem like Lenalee, Lavi, Toma, or even reserved Krory were. It really seemed like a private subject, yet people were talking about it. It seemed to just be Kisho who was uncomfortable—probably because it was adult talk.

"I think you should be done or almost done with training then," Toma said to Kisho, looking thoughtful, and the fourteen-year-old hoped so. Training was difficult, but gratifying, and he liked learning a lot of new things but he wanted to get back to missions like everyone else.

"Before you go back to missions, you can babysit," Lavi teased, and Kisho moved food around his plate with his fork (he found seafood spaghetti a little hard to eat with chopsticks).

"I don't know if I like babies…." He admitted uncomfortably. "I don't know how to take care of them. I don't even know how to give them medical treatment."

"You'll learn." Toma spoke up. "And you know a chunk of what you're supposed to now."

"Is it enough? I don't know…" Kisho trailed off, and a peculiar smile appeared on Lenalee's face.

"We'll make sure you know everything. Don't worry." Toma nodded reassuringly. "We know what we're doing."

"That's a relief," Lavi sighed, grinning at Kisho, who returned the grin and shrugged.

"Hey, everyone. I heard something interesting." Everyone at the table turned to look at Lenalee.

"Is it gossip?" Lavi chuckled and Lenalee crossed her arms, but smiled.

"I don't gossip! Anyway, I heard that General Cloud Nyne and General Tiedoll are coming here soon. The Main Branch got a message from their Golems and they said they're coming here to check some things out." Kisho leaned forward.

"Cloud is—I mean, General Cloud Nyne is coming? She really is?"

"Yes, at least, that's what I've heard. With all the things that have happened with the Noah, Allen, and the Heart…" Lenalee trailed off, looking away. "I think they have some questions that couldn't be answered over Golem." The group nodded, and Lenalee gazed over at Kisho, who was staring down at the table, thinking. "You haven't seen her for a while, right? I wonder if she'll think you look older." Lenalee wondered curiously. Kisho seemed to be a little flustered.

"Shady said you were born in November," Lavi said.

"You'll be fifteen?" Lenalee asked, since that month was coming up, and Kisho nodded while Lavi pretended to choke on his soup.

"You're fourteen now?" He asked in mock astonishment. "I wonder if you'll start getting taller."

"Get taller? I don't know," Kisho said, faintly irritated, but had a faint smile on his face, just about used to the short comments by now—to Lavi's disappointment. "Maybe." In response to Lenalee, he said, "General Cloud Nyne and I haven't seen each other for a while. She's been really busy, like all the other Generals." He. "I want to see how she and Lau Jimin are doing…and she was told about me already, but I still want to talk to her about how I'm a Finder now…and maybe apologize."

"It'll be fine," Lavi said distractedly.

"She and General Tiedoll are a little more gentle compared to the others," Lenalee added pointedly. A little, but they still trained hard and

"I know. She was always nice to me, and patient. She is really a kind person…she trained me and I learned a lot…I want her to hear from me what happened. I can still use what she taught me…she didn't just waste her time."

"And you want to see her again," Lavi noted, then pursed his lips and tilted his head thoughtfully. "Do you love her?" Kisho jumped and his face flushed red.

"Why do you always ask that?" He demanded. "She's more like my…" Kisho realized what he'd been about to say and fell silent. Lavi and Lenalee exchanged glances because they had silently understood. Kisho looked down, shaking his head. "Don't tell her I called her old."

"We won't," Lavi replied with a grin.

"I'm going to go to bed."

"You too. Goodnight." With that he strode off. Lavi returned to his soup but jumped; The duck from the outdoor baths was standing on the table and was currently eating the leftover vegetables out of Lavi's bowl. "Hey, Quackers. Hey…." He looked frustrated. "Can she eat those?" Lavi, holding out his hands as he prepared to pick the animal up.

"It's fine," Toma replied. "As long as it's not a lot all the time." Lavi signed and patted the duck on her head.

"I probably couldn't stop her anyway. I hear ducks have a temper." Lavi stood up and yawned. "I'm going to clear off too. Come on, Quackers. I don't know where you sleep at night, but if we let you stay here you'll eat everything in the kitchen." Lavi lifted his tray with the duck still standing on it and eating out of his bowl. "Goodnight, everyone."

"Goodnight!" Lenalee and the others replied.

Kisho was trudging along the final hallway that led to the Exorcist's and Finder's rooms. He turned the corner and had only walked a short distance before the back of his neck started to prickle. He turned quickly but not soon enough; before he knew it someone had grabbed him by the shoulders and pushed him into the door he'd been walking past. Kisho had the breath knocked out of him and lost whatever he'd been about to say. A hand reached past the teenager's head and sharply twisted the doorknob, then roughly pushed him inside the room. Only when the person had shut the door and turned did Kisho see who was now leering unpleasantly at him. "Hyun-Ae…." He rubbed his head, then tried again. "Miss…is something wrong? Can I do anything for you?" The woman's eyes narrowed, but she didn't say anything for a moment. Kisho took a moment to glance around, and guessed this was Hyun-Ae's room. It was decorated sparsely, like most of the rooms, with a bed, a small desk with a burning lamp, and a window with curtains, and a small bathroom with a sink and large basin for bathing. But most people in the Order used the springs for bathing and relaxing. People washed before going into the pools using faucets, soap, and basins of water, and then went into the springs to soak.

"There is something you can do, as a matter of fact," Hyun-Ae replied tersely, snapping Kisho back to reality. Before could ask what it was, he heard her say commandingly, "Stop." The exorcist took a deep breath and gripped his shoulders angrily again. "Stop doing what you're doing."

Kisho wanted to step back but Hyun-Ae wasn't letting him. He shook his head. "I don't understand." When the exorcist shook him by the shoulders he started to get anxious.

"You don't have to understand. Just do what I say." Instead of looking angry, Kisho noticed Hyun-Ae looking at him intently now, and he had the suspicion that she believed he would do it. But Kisho wasn't being controlled by the Innocence in his blood now, and he could feel that his blood was doing what any normal person's blood was supposed to do—for the moment. It seemed that Hyun-Ae thought that because he had automatically obeyed exorcists in the past that he would follow orders anytime. Kisho felt relieved, because it seemed that the Innocence in his blood had to be activated for him to unconsciously take orders from exorcists (they controlled Innocence, after all, and so to an extent could control him). Lavi had asked Kisho if he would obey just anyone, or only exorcists, and now he had the answer. Kisho felt hugely thankful, because he didn't want to be taking orders from someone like Hyun-Ae, but didn't let it show. He hoped he looked curious, and made his voice toneless when he spoke next.

"What would you like me to do?" With a little pulse of irritation, Kisho caught a trace of eagerness in the woman's dark eyes. Hyun-Ae let go of Kisho and moved backwards until there was a few feet of space between them.

"Stop finding Innocence, and leave. Just go off and disappear." The teenager had to fight to keep his face and voice expressionless, but inside his heart had begun thudding so loudly and Hyun-Ae was so close that Kisho didn't know why she couldn't hear it, or see that he was grinding his teeth edgily.

"What about the others?" He asked, managing to make his voice vague and detached. Hyun-Ae shook her head insistently.

"Don't worry about them," she replied, but an uneasy, hot feeling made Kisho want to be sick. Instead of sounding reassuring, her tone was suddenly harsh—she sounded like she didn't care if everyone in The Black Order died tomorrow—and Kisho had no idea what had gotten into her. Even though the Finder felt like he should still pretend he was under the Innocence's control, this was too much. He stepped back and glared up at Hyun-Ae.

"I may be a Finder, and I may have to take exorcists' orders, but if you have something you'd like to share then feel free." He scowled. "I want you to tell me, actually. What's going on? If it's important, why haven't you talked to Komui?"

"Komui," Hyun-Ae muttered, and Kisho stepped back again, glancing for a brief second over his shoulder at the closed door. Even though Hyun-Ae was still looking at him, Kisho whirled and darted for the doorknob and had just barely twisted it and yanked the door open when he felt Hyun-Ae's arms close around his shoulders and drag him towards her. She threw him to the floor and leaned over him, easily straddling him and pinning him firmly so that he couldn't move. Hyun-Ae was older, stronger, and taller than him—Kisho could barely even struggle. Something shining green in Kisho's eyes made him squint a little, but he realized what she'd done. The Korean exorcist had activated her Innocence, and her right hand was shining more light into his eyes as it moved closer to his forehead. "I'll have to try again with you later."

"Try what?" Kisho yelled, still trying to fight and get free. "What the hell are you doing!" Even when Hyun-Ae was obviously trying to concentrate and ignore him, she raised her eyebrows.

"I don't want you or anything, so just hold still. This'll be over in a second."

Kisho felt alarmed but was starting to get angry. "I don't care!" The younger teenager tied again to struggle even if Hyun-Ae had pinned his legs down with her own. She had gripped his hands around the wrists, holding them both firmly so he couldn't strike out at her and try to get away. Kisho's wrists were thin enough that she could hold both of them in just her right hand, while her left was reaching for something. Kisho looked down and saw she was reaching for his training knife resting in a black holster strapped to his right leg. His body went cold. Was she going to kill him? "Don't touch that!" He yelled as loud as he could, hoping someone would realize he wasn't just messing around. Hyun-Ae's had reached inside the holster and was pulling the knife out.

"Don't! I said stop!" A jolt passed through his body and Hyun-Ae suddenly jumped to her feet, let go of the knife, which Kisho hastily swept up and returned to its holster. He scrambled to a sitting position and saw that Hyun-Ae was holding her hand as if it had been burned, and her Innocence had deactivated. But she was staring at Kisho with a look of confusion. Then the door to the room banged open with a sound that made the floor vibrate. Kisho snuck a glance at Hyun-Ae; even she seemed to be cowering from the person standing in the doorway with an expression on his face that suggested if someone didn't explain in two seconds, things would be very bad.

"What the hell," Kanda growled threateningly, his eyes flashing angrily and his teeth clenched so hard that he had to practically spit out the words, "is going on?" No one spoke for a moment. Kisho was backing away from Hyun-Ae and she was staring at him, still holding her hand. Although she was obviously dismayed for having been barged in on, Hyun-Ae reluctantly leaned back, stood up, and as soon as she was off of him Kisho leapt up and scrambled away from her and wasted no time high-tailing it out of her room. He began running away from Hyun-Ae's room—not caring where, still disturbed by what had happened—but was relieved that someone had heard him and seen what she'd been doing even if it hadn't been exactly clear what.

"Brat…." Kisho stopped running but there was no need; Kanda's hand gripped his shirt collar and pulled him back. Turning his head, the teenager saw that there was no sign of Hyun-Ae, and he breathed a heavy sigh. "I don't know or care what that was about, but if you make that much noise again—"

"Kanda—Sir Kanda….she…"

"I said I don't care." Kanda let go of Kisho's shirt and he stumbled away. "It's none of my business and I want to keep it that way." A strange sensation on Kisho's hands made him look down; there was sticky blood on them. For a minute he just stared. There were little cuts in the skin, some reminding him of fingernail shapes….Hyun-Ae's fingernails. She'd wrapped a hand around both of his wrists and held onto him so tightly that her nails had marked his skin, probably when she'd suddenly pulled away.

"She's insane. She's insane, she's insane," Kisho muttered but Kanda had left by that time, leaving the teenager alone and looking around, a bit paranoid. _I won't let _her _catch me alone again. _There were several things he could do—go to his friends, any of them, and tell them what had happened. But what would it look like? It wouldn't be very credible of him to claim that an exorcist had attacked him and tried to do who knows what. Although they would try to help him, it would just put them in a difficult position….and the moment had passed now, anyway. Tomorrow Hyun-Ae would probably not mention the incident and Kanda wasn't going to get involved—but since Kanda had seen maybe she wouldn't do it again, at least for a while. _I won't wander around on my own while she's here. She wouldn't let me yell next time._

"You're still awake?" Lenalee questioned, and Kisho yelped, jumping and backing away without thinking. Lenalee now looked as startled as Kisho felt. He hadn't heard her approach, but he sighed and quickly calmed down. It was Lenalee—she was a good person to be around. Kisho felt safer near her, a striking contrast to how he felt around Hyun-Ae. Lenalee was staring at him oddly, though, and looked a little offended (and probably put off by the relief in his eyes as he stared at her).

"I thought you were someone else," Kisho mumbled apologetically, looking at the floor. "I was just startled."

"That's alright…" Lenalee said slowly, looking at Kisho's face. "You're kind of pale. Did something happen?"

"Oh….uh…." Lenalee stared calmly at him. "Nothing."

"If you want to lie, you'd better work at it." She laughed, but it faded quickly when Kisho used both hands to massage his forehead, and she caught sight of his wrists. "Kisho, what did you do?" Lenalee gripped Kisho by the wrists and examined his hands, which had thin trickles of blood trailing down them. She shook her head and gave him a puzzled look. "What did that?" She asked insistently.

"Uh…I…ah…I can't say….right here…." Kisho grunted, startled, when Lenalee began pulling him down the hall. She looked upset, but seemed focused on taking him somewhere.

"Where are we—"

"To see Matron. She can clean your hands up and maybe you can tell both of us how it happened."

"Alright, but…it's not that big of a…" Kisho trailed off when Lenalee's grip tightened on his right wrist.

"Don't argue, just come with me," Lenalee said firmly, and soon she was pulling Kisho inside the hospital section of the castle. It was higher up than the dorms because it was somewhat warmer up there, and had more thick curtains covering the windows that kept heat inside. "Matron? Are you still up?" A woman in a dark blue dress and white apron came from around the corner and smiled warmly at Lenalee.

"Are you alright, Lenalee? Did you start feeling dizzy again?"

"No, thank you. I'm fine. It's Kisho." She pulled the teenager in front of her and showed his hand to Matron. "Something happened to him. He won't tell me what."

_More like can't,_ Kisho thought, looking away, but had to look back when Matron held his face in her hands and made him look at her.

"You're pale and sweaty," she observed, "but you look cold. And then there's your hands. Will you tell me what happened?" Lenalee and Matron looked sternly at Kisho and he hesitated. "It doesn't matter what happened or who did it. You can tell me. That's my job. But come over here and sit." Kisho shifted his feet uncomfortably, then walked over and sat on the stool Matron was indicating. She left for a moment, and Lenalee took the opportunity to ask some questions.

"Why don't you want to say anything?" She asked, looking concerned and a little frustrated. Kisho looked down but jumped and glanced back up when Lenalee sharply exclaimed, "Look at me! What happened?" Kisho discovered that his arms were shaking slightly and his throat was dry. He shook his head, and at that moment Matron came back with a basin of water and a washcloth. She dipped the cloth in the water, wrung it out, and then began dabbing and rubbing Kisho's hands gently. It was hot, like Kisho suspected it would be, and didn't react when his hands stung. "Please, Kisho. If you had answered and said it was something like you scratched your hands by accident…"

"This wasn't an accident," Matron spoke up suddenly, frowning at Kisho's hands, and then at Kisho. "Did you do it to yourself?"

"No," Kisho replied before he could stop himself. Maybe should have said yes? Or insisted that it really had been an accident? He'd wanted to tell someone earlier about Hyun-Ae's recent strange actions but now that people were asking, he was hesitating. Kisho discovered he was tired, and felt suddenly unable to think straight. The events of what had happened between him and Hyun-Ae were a slight blur now.

"Who?" Matron insisted gently. "It's alright. Just say who it was."

"Even if it was an…exorcist…?" Lenalee and Matron looked startled but apart from their eyes widening slightly they didn't react much.

"Especially then. No one will get in trouble, least of all you. Who was the exorcist?"

"Listen…I don't know what happened, still…I don't understand why…" Kisho took a breath. "I was going back to my room and Hyun-Ae suddenly showed up…"

"She did this?" Matron asked calmly while Lenalee listened with a clouded expression. "Just nod or shake your head." After an awkward pause Kisho nodded once, and felt foolish. It was like he was a helpless victim of assault, scarred by the whole thing. He knew Hyun-Ae, and although she didn't like him that much, what she'd done had been startling and role-reversed but now that he thought about it, even if he wished he'd been able to avoid Hyun-Ae, he was strangely glad she was strong enough to deal with him (though that was saying more about her physical strength than his). Kisho was thinking this probably because of what Hyun-Ae had said…if she could restrain him like he was nothing, then probably stronger men wouldn't be a problem for her to deal with either.

"So…can you just…" The two women looked puzzled. "You…you don't have to do anything about her, it's fine.."

"Kisho, please, you need to calm down," Matron hushed him calmly, making him stop. "We want to find out what happened. That's all for now." Matron had finished cleaning and drying Kisho's hands, and was now wrapping white bandage strips around them.

"Hold on," a soft but firm voice said. The three people looked up in surprise. "It looks like he's in minor shock. Don't be too hard on him." Kisho let his mouth drop open a little.

"C-Cloud Nyne…" he said quietly, staring at her face. It had been a long time since he'd seen her last—since he'd seen any of the Generals, really. But he'd wanted to see her the most. Kisho couldn't help smiling at her and he felt himself lift an arm and wave at her, which made her laugh. "General," he corrected himself.

"General," Matron said quietly, nodding her head and smiling. "It's wonderful to see you. How have you been?"

"Busy, very busy. There have been terrible attacks all over the world, and they're getting worse. The Earl is trying his best to destroy everything and everyone and he's making an even greater attempt right now. But we can't give up."

"Of course we won't," Matron replied agreeingly. Cloud Nyne walked closer and gave Lenalee a warm smile.

"Lenalee….how have you been?" Before Lenalee could answer, the General sighed. "You look so grown-up, bless your heart. I've missed you." The young woman stood up and smiled back.

"Me too…it's been a long time." She looked at Kisho. "A lot of things have happened." Cloud Nyne nodded gravely, but still had a caring look on her face.

"I've heard. Everyone has been working hard and doing their best. You two, especially, I've heard. Komui and Bak have been keeping me updated." Lenalee and Kisho glanced at each other; Lenalee was pursing her lips scrutinizingly while Kisho's excited smile at seeing Cloud Nyne was now faintly uneasy. "Lenalee, you must tell me yourself all about all of the things you've done lately. But now…I can tell something is the matter. What is it?" Lenalee sighed and gave a troubled look towards Kisho.

"Something happened to him, but he won't tell us everything."

"There's a reason," Kisho mumbled, looking pleadingly at Lenalee. "If I told you, you'd know why I don't want to say. I think, I mean….I still can't understand what happened."

The best he could, trying not to sound too accusing or traumatized (he wanted the whole thing to just be forgiven and forgotten), Kisho explained what had happened while he gazed at Cloud Nyne's face. He also tried to remember everything Hyun-Ae had said about the exorcists. Her being nearby made him feel calmer, since there was something about her that was always understanding, accepting and kind, but she wasn't just supportive—she was one of the strongest people Kisho knew, physically and emotionally. Lau Jimin was sitting placidly on the General's shoulder and was watching everyone intently while making occasional chattering noises, as if he was saying something important. Kisho could see him, but was able to sense Lau Jimin, too…sense the power he and Cloud Nyne were giving off. The power he felt was strong, but also soothing. So Kisho managed to completely explain what had happened without stumbling over his words or feeling the confusion and fear of the encounter.

The young teenager finished the short account by saying, "It was just weird and I kind of want to forget about it." Kisho shrugged and stood up, but Matron held up a hand.

"You look exhausted. Sleep here tonight."

"Um…really?" Matron felt Kisho's forehead and took his pulse, then shook her head once. Cloud Nyne and Lenalee were silent and looked to be deep in thought.

"Yes, really. You look weak and I don't want you walking anywhere more than necessary tonight. Get in bed," she commanded, and pointed to the bed next to the stool Kisho had been sitting on, and he clambered unhappily onto it and settled under the covers. Cloud Nyne smiled and patted Lau Jimin's head, and the Innocence in animal form jumped up and down a few times, still looking at the young Finder.

"Get some sleep, Kisho," she encouraged. "We'll talk more in the morning. Just relax. I promise there is nothing to worry about."

"Let her look after you for a while, okay?" Lenalee added, trying to persuade Kisho. "And you can trust us. We'll figure this out." Lenalee sounded like she didn't know what to think, and Matron's expression said the same. "I think I'll go talk to my brother."

"Wait!" Kisho grabbed Lenalee's sleeve as she got up to go, but she shook him off as if she knew what he was going to say.

"No, I won't. I know you have some aversion to people helping you, but that's too bad."

"I don't, but I don't want to—" Lenalee turned and turned a steely gaze on him.

"—To cause trouble for people? Right?" Her eyebrows furrowed in irritation. "That's nothing you should be worrying about, Kisho. If you help people, then you have to let other people help you, too. You can't take care of everyone and expect them to not want to do the same." Lenalee was almost scolding him, and Kisho couldn't help feeling abashed.

"She's right. We need to support and trust each other," Cloud Nyne nodded approvingly at Lenalee's words. "Or else none of us will be able to do anything to help anyone."

"Least of all each other," Matron added. "I know what you must have in mind, Kisho, but you have to work with people, not just for them."

"Alright….I understand," Kisho said quietly, and rested his head on the pillow, trying to fall asleep. _What is going on with Hyun-Ae? I don't know what she was trying to do, but it wasn't good…I need to stop thinking about it. I can't do anything right now. _Kisho closed his eyes and he tried to breathe calmly. _It's not just about me. I don't care about what she does to me. If she's acting that way and saying those things, the others should know about it. It affects them too._ Soon a feeling of drowsiness was settling over Kisho and he tried to fight it at first, but soon gave in and was snoring lightly.

* * *

**Author's Note: **

**Sorry for the reaalllllyyyy long wait. I was busy writing chapters and doing other things and then I was procrastinating again. Writing the chapters is fine, but for some reason, I wait a long time to upload. Hope you liked the chapter. I was trying to have some more interaction in this chapter between the characters to show that they're pretty comfortable with each other. I'm making Kisho out to be a worrywart, and the others are now comfortable with saying "Uh-huh, yeah" and ignoring him. XD Two Generals will come by and they have to have a talk with Komui about how the world is doing and it's not so good. There's some stuff going on that will be talked about later. I don't know how many more chapters I'll have….I have a lot written up now, almost to 60 chapters, but I think sometime soon it'll be coming to an end. Not too soon though. Thank you for reading. Hope you like it but I've been having fun writing it. Sorry for the long wait again.**

**Cloud Nyne was a little hard to write about….I wanted to keep her in character the best I could. I think that she's noble, kind, strong, responsible…hopefully I made that come across instead of making her just sound weird or stuck-up.**


	48. Forward

Chapter 44 - Forward

"Cloud!" Kisho called, and ran up to her when she stopped and turned to face him. "I mean, General, ma'am…" She touched his lips gently with her right hand, shushing him.

"Call me what you always called me, Kisho. It's alright." The female General smiled. "What did you want to tell me?"

"I wanted to thank you for saving me, and training me…and I just wanted to tell you that.." Kisho trailed off but when Cloud Nyne nodded gently he continued. "I'm a Finder now. I like it, but I liked being an exorcist, too…but I think that being a Finder was the right thing for me to do."

"I think you're right. And the fact that you helped Allen made your decision even more important. We might not still have him if you hadn't done something." Kisho nodded.

"Right. So I don't regret." Kisho smiled up at Cloud Nyne. "I learned to not want any other outcome from you, even if what happened wasn't the best. But I think what happened was the best outcome." Cloud Nyne nodded once, and her eyes got a faraway look in them.

"You're exactly right. We try and help people move on." The General's eyes cleared and she looked down at Kisho again. "About Hyun-Ae….she didn't act in an appropriate manner. Komui and I have discussed the incident with her." Kisho narrowed his eyes doubtfully.

"She wouldn't hurt anyone, would she? She said some things that made me think she didn't care about the exorcists."

"She won't," Cloud Nyne responded with an understanding look. "I can tell you that there were some events in her life, and recently, that made her do what she did. She thought what she was doing was for the best. If you want me to tell you her motives, I will, but if not then she may tell you on her own eventually." Kisho shook his head. He doubted Hyun-Ae's reasons would make sense, and even if he heard them, he might not care about what they were. Cloud Nyne faintly smiled and continued. "Komui and I have spoken to her about the incident. She is still a trustworthy ally, but we are keeping an eye on her, as much for her sake as The Black Order's. We don't need to lose any of our members now."

"She tried to do something to me with her Innocence…what was it?" Cloud Nyne looked troubled but answered.

"Her Innocence has the ability to cover up people's memories, to obscure them so that they're just like a very early memory. A handful of exorcists can do this. She didn't want you to remember what she'd asked you to do, but she didn't get the chance to cover up what you'd seen."

"I'll still work with her…I mean, I have to, but that's not the only reason. Just…she wanted me to stop looking for Innocence. Maybe that's the part I agreed I didn't want to know…but is that all okay? With you and Komui?" He asked insistently.

"It is. That's what we discussed with Hyun-Ae, and we managed to convince her to not act on her own like that again, or try to use her Innocence on you anymore. We also reminded her again of what the exorcists' job is, and how important they are—how she must trust them. And herself, since of course she is an exorcist too."

"That's a relief," Kisho mumbled with a sigh. "Then I don't have anything else to complain about. Thank you, Cloud."

"It's my pleasure. Why don't we—" The General began, but stopped when a faint but high-pitched sound caught her attention. Kisho noticed it also and stood with a confused look on his face. The sounds were familiar, but he couldn't place them yet. Then the strange noise got closer and the two were able to listen closely and hear what it was. It sounded like scared yelping. As if in confirmation Shiori—as a wolf—suddenly tore down the hall from around a corner and was running so quickly that Cloud Nyne and Kisho's hair ruffled back and then forward as she galloped by. She appeared to be afraid and running away from something—her ears were flat, her eyes wide, and her tail was between her legs. The young teenager glanced up at his mentor and she looked down at him. Both people had bewildered expressions on their faces. Then, trying not to laugh, Kisho gestured an open hand to where Shiori had disappeared around another corner.

"Have you met my sister?" He asked casually as if he was politely introducing her to the General. A louder sound than the yelps broke the brief silence and then a brown duck was waddling swiftly down the hall, flapping her wings and quacking. Then she had disappeared around the corner after Shiori. "And Marbelline the duck?" Cloud Nyne stared after the bird, then at Kisho, and started laughing. Lau Jimin was screeching and clapping his paws.

"This place has gotten a lot of animal variety recently," she said while laughing softly. "Should we see where they're going?"

"Sure," Kisho replied.

"I hope it's not the cafeteria," a voice said, and Kisho immediately turned around and couldn't help narrowing his eyes at Hyun-Ae, who was walking down the hall with Allen walking calmly beside her. Timcampy was on his shoulder. When the two exorcists stopped the golden Golem flew towards Lau Jimin and circled Cloud Nyne a few times. The monkey gazed at Timcampy the way a cat watches a bird and suddenly reached his paws out and grabbed the Golem by the tail and tugged a few times before letting go. Timcampy fluttered back to Allen's shoulder and swished his tail indignantly.

"That's what you get, Timcampy," Allen chuckled, then nodded respectfully to Cloud Nyne. "Good to see you. I hope you're doing well." The General nodded.

"Well enough. Where were you two headed?"

"The cafeteria."

"Let's walk together. Does that sound good, General?" Hyun-Ae asked, and neither Allen nor Kisho said anything. It was Cloud Nyne who nodded once and responded politely.

"That sounds excellent," she replied pleasantly, and turned to lead the way. As the group followed her and Kisho fell back to trudge along while Hyun-Ae walked next to Cloud Nyne, Allen noticed that Kisho was glaring unpleasantly at the Korean exorcist's back. He tapped Kisho's shoulder and the younger teenager looked over and up at him.

_What's going on with you and her? _Allen thought, and Kisho was silent for a moment, his face dark. They could communicate with their thoughts because Kisho had some of the Innocence that Allen now had in his blood. That was what they guessed, anyway, because it was similar to how Shiori communicated with people as an animal.

_I just don't like her. _Kisho looked at Hyun-Ae's back and glared again. _And she sounds polite, like she was honestly asking what Cloud Nyne wanted to do, but she's being sarcastic._

_ That's just how she is, _Allen thought back with a sigh and shake of his head. _You used to not be this bothered by her attitude. That seems like the right way to handle her._

_ Well, I'll ignore her around here, anyway. But on missions…_

_Right… I bet even she knows that she should be cooperative on missions._

_ Hope so._

"We're here. What do you two look so serious about?"

_None of your damn business, _Kisho wanted to snap, but he just took a quick breath and said, "Nothing. Let's go inside." The two women walked into the cafeteria before Allen and Kisho and Hyun-Ae stepped back so that Cloud Nyne would be first in line. The General raised her eyebrows, looking slightly taken by surprise, before she smiled and nodded her head modestly. Allen gave an amused smile and knocked Kisho lightly on the head when he noticed that the Finder was balling his fists. It might be because Cloud Nyne was here, but the kid was suddenly acting a little differently than usual.

_Alright, alright…I'll ignore her._ Cloud Nyne ordered her lunch, then Hyun-Ae, and when they were done Allen and Kisho stepped up. While they were waiting to order Hyun-Ae tapped his shoulder and he jumped a little and stepped back. She was smiling and that unnerved and annoyed him. "What is it?" He asked, trying (but probably failing) not to sound faintly annoyed. She apparently had to tell him something but Kisho doubted it actually was necessary or important. Hyun-Ae motioned for him to step aside and he hesitatingly obeyed.

"Are you still upset about our little meeting before?" She was still smiling, an expression that was too adorable for her. But still, the fact that it even _was_ adorable annoyed Kisho.

"Yes, I'm upset," he replied, frowning at her. "I know that apparently everything's worked out, and I won't say anything about what happened from now on." Hyun-Ae's eyes brightened a little but any other time Kisho wouldn't have noticed it. "I don't want to make a big thing out of it, but I still don't want to talk to you outside of what my duties are." The exorcist gazed at him, and the Finder stared up at her without turning away. Kisho stared into her medium-brown eyes and told himself that he just wanted to decipher the meaning behind the emotions in them. But he couldn't figure anything out, and he ended up just being drawn in. He'd never looked closely enough at her to realize that there was a lot more feeling in her eyes than she showed everyone. Then Kisho glowered as Hyun-Ae's smile faded and she sighed at him.

"I was just trying to do that for your good, you know," she said, almost mournfully. "And everyone else's, too."

"Do you think that will make me change my mind about what I do?" Kisho asked sharply in an undertone. "It won't." Hyun-Ae was just starting to say something when her words turned into a startled yell halfway. She jumped away from Kisho and looked down. Shiori was standing there, her ears and tail raised. Marbelline was nestled between her shoulder blades and didn't seem the least bit angry now.

"Oh, it's you," Hyun-Ae grunted, obviously not happy to see Shiori, but a tiny hint of amusement at seeing the duck showed in her expression now. "Well, what is it, Fluffy?" Shiori growled and the Korean exorcist narrowed her eyes down at the canine, but seemed a little wary as the wolf stepped in front of Kisho. Hyun-Ae stepped back even further when Shiori's lips lifted and her fangs became visible. There was silence for a moment; then Hyun-Ae returned to her old demeanor. "Fine, Fluffy, I'm leaving. He's all yours." Kisho and Shiori jumped, since the suggestive tone in her voice had been crystal clear. Face reddening, Kisho spoke slowly but didn't bother to keep the aggravation out of his voice.

"Are you stupid?" He hissed. Hyun-Ae appeared to be surprised.

"What? Oh, come on now. You aren't _really _related," she declared indifferently.

"That doesn't matter," he growled quietly. "We're still siblings." A strange glint had come into the female exorcist's eyes as she looked at Kisho and Shiori.

"So you're available," Hyun-Ae stated innocently, and she barely reacted when a loud growl from Shiori filled the air.

Jerry had just finished Cloud Nyne and Hyun-Ae's meals and, along with the nearest section of the dining hall, was silently watching the small confrontation. Cloud Nyne quietly picked up her tray and moved towards Kisho and Shiori while Hyun-Ae got her tray and walked off without a backward glance. Allen took his place in line and began ordering his usual huge lunch, and while he was waiting, turned and walked towards the small group. Shiori hid her teeth when the General approached and touched her on the head.

"So you are Kisho's brother?" Cloud Nyne asked. "I think that he may have told you I was his mentor, but all the same, it's nice to meet you. He told me a lot about you, and now we finally meet each other. My name is Cloud Nyne." Shiori sat down and Marbelline slid off of her back without a complaint and waddled off towards a table where Lenalee, Chaoji, and Miranda were sitting. Allen watched her go with an amused expression; Timcampy had flown after her and was hovering just next to her. Then Allen, Kisho and Cloud Nyne laughed when Shiori held up her right paw and put it in the General's hand. "How polite," she chuckled, shaking Shiori's paw in greeting, and then they let go. "Did you already get something to eat?" The wolf moved her head back and forth.

"It's because you were too busy being chased by a duck, right?" Shiori sniffed and wagged her tail. "Mm-hm. What did you do?" The wolf traced her right paw in a circle and lowered her head. "She thought you were trying to eat her and she chased you?" Kisho snickered and Shiori growled at him. "You're wrong. It's still funny."

"So you _can_ communicate with her by thought," Cloud Nyne remarked. "What did she say?" Kisho looked up and smiled.

"She was trying to play with the duck, but wound up scaring her and getting chased and bitten a lot." Kisho glanced down at his sister abruptly. "She can run fast. You know for next time, don't you?" Shiori showed her teeth to Kisho but unlike last time, he could tell she was just joking around. Cloud Nyne nudged Kisho and led the two of them over to Jerry, who brightened and waved.

"Hello!" He said cheerfully. "What will you have?"

"I had pasta once…with chicken, spinach, mushrooms, and some kind of cheese sauce….I don't know what it was called." Jerry smiled and nodded.

"I can manage that! How about you, doggy?" Shiori jumped onto her back paws and pressed her front ones against the stone wall of the dining hall. "The usual?" He asked before the wolf did anything and received a nod. "Chicken florentine, seafood pasta, a ham and cheese crepe, and lobster bisque." The last three things were for Shiori. She'd had some new foods recently but already Kisho thought her meals were just weird combinations. "I'll get your usual drinks too."

"Back again, Mr. Harmony Pearl Tea?" Lavi clamped his hands on either side of Kisho's head and leaned over him. "Let me know how all that harmony's working for you."

"I'm doing fine, thanks, but kindly get off of me." Kisho grabbed Lavi's wrists and attempted to wrench them away but he let go on his own. Shiori and Cloud Nyne were looking on and Cloud Nyne was smiling while Shiori was wagging her tail.

"It's good how they get along," the General murmured. "A bit like brothers." A short while later the group had their food and was heading to where Lenalee, Chaoji and Miranda were sitting. Lavi had a peculiar expression on his face and his arms were crossed.

"Didn't I tell you?" He said as soon as everyone had sat down. There was silence for a moment until everyone figured out that he'd been addressing Kisho, and then everyone's eyes were looking towards him. Kisho stared back.

"You told me lots of things." He picked up his spoon and slid some of the bowtie pasta onto it. "Which thing are you talking about?" Kisho asked, then put the spoon in his mouth and started chewing the pasta.

"That Hyun-Ae bothers you because she likes you." Kisho widened his eyes and he choked and started coughing; everyone covered their food and urged him to drink something.

"She's just odd," Kisho gasped after drinking some of his milk tea. "You're confusing dislike and affection."

"You keep saying that," Lavi groaned. "When are you going to admit you have a thing for her too?"

"Never," Kisho grunted and returned to his food, but was sure that no one would believe him.

"Really?" Lavi asked lazily. "Then why is your face red?" Kisho looked down at his chicken florentine.

"It's hot." Lenalee, Miranda, and Lavi laughed, while Chaoji held a hand to his forehead and sighed.

"Hot? Your food, or the weather? Because it's definitely not the weather," Lenalee laughed. "It's only two weeks into November and it's snowing." Shiori suddenly perked her ears up, taking a break from eating as cleanly as she could from her plates. When she was an animal and ate she often made a mess (even if she could awkwardly hold her toothbrush there was no way she could handle cutlery) so Shiori ate a few places away from everyone until she was done eating and had wiped her mouth off. "Um," Lenalee said, looking over at Shiori, who was wagging her tail and staring at Kisho while she lifted a paw and pointed at him. It was a strange sight. Shiori held up her right paw. "One word? Do you want to play a game?" The wolf shook her head and pointed her paw at Kisho, then raised her paw again. "Something about him?"

"This could take a while," Chaoji mumbled, resting his face in his hands. "One word. Short?" Lavi snorted.

"You can just tell us," Miranda said, indicating Lenalee, Lavi, and herself. Shiori shook her head and everyone moaned.

"It is more fun this way." Lavi grinned, then waved. "Yuu! Shady's playing Charades. It's one word about Kikun." Kanda stopped and briefly glanced at Kisho; a wisp of a smirk crossed his face before he became serious again.

"Brat," he said, then kept walking.

"I'm just waiting for this to be over…" Kisho grumbled, picking at his food. Shiori meanwhile had lowered her arm and was lowering her ears crossly when Lenalee's face brightened.

"Wait. Does it have something to do with it being November?" Shiori barked. "About him? Is it his birthday?" She wagged her tail again.

"Hey!" Kisho snapped, dropping his spoon just as he was about to take a bite of pasta. "I didn't tell everyone when it was your birthday!"

_That's because I hate _my_ birthday. _Shiori was wagging her tail in what seemed to be a smug manner. Kisho narrowed his eyes.

"What about all of your favorite foods you asked Jerry for that day—exactly what mom made for you each year." He threw a piece of bowtie pasta at Shiori but she opened her mouth and caught it. "Don't tell me that wasn't a birthday meal." Shiori snorted and moved back to her spot at the table and resumed eating.

"How old are you?" Miranda asked with a polite smile.

"Twelve," Kisho replied, glancing at Lavi on purpose. They shared a laugh. "Not really. I'm fifteen now."

"You're the right age for you-know-who now," Lavi said, winking, and he jumped when a piece of pasta smacked him in the forehead and stuck there.

"Shut up," Kisho warned, pointing his spoon at the redhead, who pulled the piece of pasta off in disgust and threw it to Shiori, who caught and ate it.

"Oh no, a spoon," he said in mock fear.

"That's right," Kisho said, putting another piece of pasta in his spoon. As he aimed it, Lavi grabbed Shiori by the collar and dragged her across the bench towards him.

"Get it!" He yelled as Kisho flung pasta at them.

_What the fetch?_ The pasta flew into Shiori's face and stuck in her fur, but she combed it out and threw it at Lavi. He dodged when he saw the wolf lifting her arm and it went flying through the air. _Uh-oh_, Shiori thought, seeing Noise Marie walking up and moving into the pasta's line of fire, but the exorcist caught it easily and acted like nothing had happened. Shiori never ceased to be amazed.

"Pardon me, but I need Chaoji to come with me. Komui has a mission for Kanda, Chaoji, and myself." Chaoji finished the last few bites of his seafood congee, picked his dishes up, and walked away. The remaining group waved goodbye.

"We'll see you later!" Miranda called, waving, and Noise smiled kindly to her and walked off. Chaoji left with him after dropping off his dishes.

"Who wants to go outside for some training?" Lavi suggested suddenly and everyone at the table looked at him.

"What kind of training?" Kisho asked curiously after finishing the rest of his pasta.

"The kind that you can only do when it's snowing," the redhead replied with an eager grin.

"Oh, great. You mean snow fights," Lenalee sighed.

"That's exactly what I mean!" Lavi confirmed eagerly, rising to his feet. "We'll be having fun but getting exercise, so what's the problem? Let's go!" After glancing at each other, Allen, Miranda, Lenalee, Kisho, and Cloud Nyne stood and followed after cleaning up their plates and thanking Jerry for the meal. Once outside everyone discussed briefly and decided to split up into teams. Miranda, Lenalee, Cloud Nyne, and Lau Jimin paired up, while Allen, Lavi, Kisho, and Marbelline got into a group. Then each team quickly got to work and made a mini-snow fort which had a protective wall in front and two walls that surrounded the team members. The snow fort Allen, Lavi, and Kisho had built had walls seven feet high when they'd finished. Kisho had looked around the edge of the wall at a prompt from his teammates and almost got a snowball in his face.

"Guys against girls, huh?" Allen whispered as the three of them cut squares in the main wall, openings big enough to toss snowballs through.

"Marbelline's with us," Lavi said. The duck was sitting in the hood of the brown Finder cloak Kisho was wearing. "She's a girl, and Lau Jimin's with them…I think he's a guy but I doubt anyone's really thought to check. And I don't even know if he'd have..." Lavi trailed off. "…those parts." Kisho used the knife he was training with to cut some square openings, Lavi used a little fire to melt holes, while Allen used his claws to slice openings. Soon there were openings at Kisho's, Lavi's, and Allen's height.

"This is kind of like Himeji Castle…" Kisho thought aloud. "With all the openings that archers or gunmen could fire through." Lavi peeked through one of the square openings, then bent down to make a snowball. "They're called loopholes sometimes in English."

"Where's Himeji Castle?"

"A lot further south from where Shiori and I lived, and kind of to the southwest of Edo…I think. Where I lived, all anyone heard about it was that recently some rich person bought it, and that it has restless spirits." Lavi threw a snowball through one of the openings and looked down at Kisho.

"Spirits?" The Finder nodded. "Are you pulling my leg?"

"Uh….does that mean…" He stalled.

"He wants to know if you're kidding," Allen said while tossing a snowball over the top of the wall. Startled yells and screams broke the silence a moment later. "One for us!" He yelled triumphantly.

"Then no," Kisho answered. "They call the spirit Okiku. She worked at the castle for a samurai who thought she was very beautiful. Every time the samurai approached Okiku, wanting to marry her, she rejected him."

"Loser," Lavi snorted. Allen rolled his eyes.

"The samurai was angry that she kept rejecting him, so he played a trick on her. Okiku took care of a set of ten of plates that belonged to the family living in the castle, and the samurai played a trick and hid one. Okiku thought she had lost it, and she kept counting the plates up to nine, but never found the tenth one. Losing one of the plates was a crime punishable by death. Okiku went to the samurai and confessed to losing the plate, and he said if she would be his lover, he'd forget the whole thing."

"Huh. So did she?"

"No." Kisho shook his head. "She refused him again. The samurai became furious and threw her down the castle's well."

"Wouldn't a huge castle have more than one well?" Lavi asked.

"Probably. He threw her down one of the wells on the grounds, and Okiku died from the fall. But after that she became a vengeful spirit who haunted the samurai for a while. Okiku would count up to nine, but just like she did in life for the plates, she couldn't find the tenth plate and her ghost would scream, then vanish. This continued until an exorcist was called."

"An exorcist…" Allen murmured curiously.

"The 'exorcist' was probably a priest or a monk," Kisho explained. "It is interesting, though. Haven't some ghosts or monsters just been Akuma?" Allen and Lavi nodded resolutely.

"Yeah." Allen crossed his arms in thought and Lavi knelt and began making a pile of snowballs. "What happened after they called the exorcist?"

"The exorcist waited until Okiku appeared and began counting the plates like she did every night. Before she vanished, the exorcist yelled 'Ten!' and that allowed Okiku to go rest since someone had found the plate for her. The samurai wasn't bothered by Okiku anymore, but he'd kind of gone crazy by then." Kisho tossed a snowball he'd rolled through one of the openings he'd made and watched it hit the front of the girls' fort.

"Kind of sad, but I think he deserved it," Lavi commented and pitched two snowballs over the top of their fort. Yells and a bark followed, but this time a minute later a snowball landed next to Allen, another grazed Lavi's arm, and the last one hit Kisho in the face and made him fall backwards into the snow.

"Has anyone actually seen her or did they just make that up?" Lavi asked, gulping, hoping he'd never have to go to that castle. Kisho wiped the snow off of his face and stood up, brushing snow off as he picked up a snowball.

"One for us!" Lenalee was heard yelling from the other side.

"Well, some say it's a real story, but I don't know. From what I've heard and seen, I don't think it's a ghost."

"Yeah. It's either an Akuma or nothing at all," Allen stated resolutely. "If it is an Akuma no one's reported anything about it."

"And the story's really old." Kisho threw a snowball but as he looked through the opening a golden blur caught the snowball and flew away with it. Allen had seen it too and looked around the edge of their fort.

"Timcampy!" He called, wondering where the Golem had gotten to. Allen and Kisho watched Timcampy fly over their fort and drop the snowball. It fell on Lavi's head—he'd been too busy looking through one of the openings in their fort to pay attention. He jolted and brushed the snow off, then shivered as some went down his shirt.

"It's cold. How long have we been out here?"

"Twenty minutes, maybe?" Allen guessed. Suddenly a hail of snowballs rained from the sky and the males ducked for cover and tried their best to dodge.

"Give up?" Miranda yelled, sounding unexpectedly competitive. The only reply the boys gave were yelps and shouts of pain.

"Ow!"

"Whoa!"

"AGH! That snowball was hard!" Allen brushed the snow away from a snowball and found a hard gray stone. "Did you put a rock in it?"

"Oh, a rock? How'd that get in there?" Came Lenalee's overly-innocent reply.

"You put one in!" Kisho yelped, looking at Allen's forehead. There was a slight cut and small bruise forming. "That's dangerous!"

"Shiori asks if you give up!"

"We give up! And it's freezing out here now thanks to you!" Lavi shuddered, wrapping his arms around himself. "Let's go in and hit the hot springs."

"The women always triumph!" Miranda cheered as the groups left the protection of their snow forts. Lenalee, Miranda, and Cloud Nyne were walking together and smiling while Lavi, Kisho, and Allen were shivering and rubbing their hands together. Timcampy had perched on Allen's shoulder and Kisho was checking to see if Marbelline was okay. The wind had suddenly kicked up so he took her in his hands and wrapped her in his cloak before hugging her close. But soon they were inside and warming up quickly, but still decided to go to the hot springs.

Just before Kisho went inside the mens' changing rooms, though, something made him pause and look around. Hyun-Ae was standing there with a vacant look in her eyes and she was gazing at something in her hand. "What are you doing?" Kisho asked, stepping closer. Lavi noticed Kisho wasn't following him and answering back. The redhead turned and walked back out of the changing room. Kisho set Marbelline down and she began waddling away while quacking quietly. "What is that?"

"Didn't work anymore…knew it couldn't help...would make things worse…" The female exorcist was saying lifelessly. "So she took it out…took it away…"

"Lavi…" Kisho murmured, gazing uneasily up at his friend. "What's she talking about?"

"Your guess is as good as mine," he replied, looking at Hyun-Ae with a troubled expression. "But…what's she got in her hands?" A green glint caught their eyes, but they noticed that it was also mixed with a deep red. "Innocence!" Lavi stepped forward. "Where did you get that?" He demanded angrily, still moving forward. He reached an arm out and just as Kisho began moving forward he saw Hyun-Ae's hand starting to close over the Innocence cube. At that moment Kisho and Lavi realized that both of her hands were bleeding.

"Don't want it anymore…"

"Hey! Stop!" Lavi shouted, lunging forward.

"Don't do that!" Kisho yelled, panicking, and also ran forward but before he could say anything else a bright green light filled the corridor, and he felt his mind going fuzzy. His body was tingling and something made his legs stop moving and he felt himself just staring at the scene happening in front of him.

Lavi had reached his hands out for Hyun-Ae's as he tried to take the Innocence cube she was crushing in her hands from her. Innocence couldn't be destroyed by normal means, but still, both people had obviously had the same idea of getting the bunch of material away from Hyun-Ae. Lavi had pried the exorcist's hands open and grabbed the Innocence cube. The cube of sacred material was floating in his palms now and a hint of pink sparked within its green depths. Lavi's visible green eye widened as he realized what he had, and the redhead watched in wonder as the cube lifted up into the air and floated level before his eyes. Light sparked from the cube and Lavi continued to gaze at it.

"I remember." He spoke softly. "And I can see them...all of them…"

"Lavi—" Kisho heard his voice say, but he still couldn't move. Lavi lowered his head and touched the Innocence to his forehead. A jolt of power went through the air and Kisho felt it so strongly that he wrapped his arms around himself as a cold tingle went up and down his spine. With the feeling of power was the stir of familiarity, as if a memory buried for a long time had just been rediscovered. When the feeling had faded, Kisho blinked and realized that he could move again. Hyun-Ae was nearby, lying on her back with her legs curled up close to her body. Lavi was kneeling over her. As Kisho approached Lavi looked up briefly. Something was different about him but the teenager couldn't place what it was yet. He was still a little confused about what had just happened.

"Kikun…" Lavi stated. "She had a Heart fragment…and I just got it."

"She did?" Kisho echoed, but knew it made sense. And for some reason it had been taken from her.

"And I remember now—something happened to my memories. It was the memories of being a Bookman in training…everything I learned, and my last name." Lavi held his hands to his forehead and rubbed his temples. "I forgot all of that. I remember now that I agreed it would be okay that Panda suppressed my memories, though…" He shook his head a few times. "Help me pick her up. She doesn't look too good." Kisho nodded and hugged Hyun-Ae's right arm and pulled her upright as Lavi took her other arm. Together they headed off quickly towards the Infirmary. In the seriousness of the situation, Kisho hadn't noticed what the difference about Lavi was, and he also hadn't noticed a round black piece of cloth lying on the floor behind them.

**Author's Note ~ **

**Me: Am I obvious?**

**Lavi: Yeah.**

**Kisho: Maybe…**

**Allen: Don't play Poker.**

**Shiori: Transparent.**

**Me: Thought so. :D I don't own the characters, their names, except the characters I make up, I just looked up their names though. The D. Gray Man universe belongs to Hoshino Katsura. I keep wanting to call her Hoshino Katsura (author of a Japanese comic called Kijitora Neko no Koumei-san). I gotta watch that.**

**The next holiday vacation is only in a few weeks! The months seem so short but I have a few finals to go through but I can do it! I have to so I can shop for presents with no worries!**

**At the time I wrote this chapter, my story was almost in the same month as the real world month….cool. It's because I've started time skipping out of laziness. XD**


	49. Hands

**Nothing much to say….I don't own the characters except the ones I made up. Thank you for reading! :)**

Hands

Kisho glared down at the sink while he washed Hyun-Ae's blood from his hands. After Lavi had carried her to the Infirmary, Matron and Kisho had worked on getting her hands to stop bleeding. It seemed that Hyun-Ae had somehow extracted the Innocence pieces from her hands. Kisho shuddered thinking about it, because it seemed like she had just dug them out with her fingernails. He couldn't imagine how much that must have hurt, what it must have felt like, and had no idea how she'd kept doing it. After she had taken the pieces out, though, they seemed to have merged back into their original, single form and that's when Lavi and Kisho had spotted her. Matron cleaned her hands, made sure they weren't still bleeding, and bandaged them carefully. Hyun-Ae was now lying in a bed in the Infirmary, asleep. Kisho only left her to clean himself up when Matron had announced she'd be fine and hadn't permanently damaged any of her nerves or blood vessels. Even though she was hurt, Kisho felt angry at her and still had the urge to yell at her. The shock of the event had worn off and he was getting more and more annoyed with her. But he dried his hands and went over to her bed to sit on the chair that he'd dragged over to it. Lavi was sitting nearby, too, and for the first time since they'd come to the Infirmary, Kisho looked at him. "Lavi?" He asked, and the exorcist looked away from a painting of the ocean that he'd been staring at. His expression was slightly interested.

"What?"

"Your eye….the patch…it's gone." Lavi's face relaxed and he leaned back in his chair.

"Oh. That. Thought it was something important." Kisho looked puzzled.

"But this is. I've never seen you with the eye patch off. Why were you wearing it in the first place?" Lavi was looking sharply at Kisho. "And your right eye is…"

"Completely normal," Lavi grunted, sounding bored.

"Uh…." Kisho stalled, and Lavi smiled ruefully at him.

"You thought I covered it up because of an injury, or something, right?" Kisho nodded, also grinning, a little embarrassed. "Lots of people thought so. And they should have, since that's all it looked like. But it was so I couldn't use it." Lavi trailed off. "My Innocence was a little funny. It was Parasite, in my right eye, and I had trouble controlling it. I could see elements and see how to use them. Symbols appear when I use my Equip weapon, I'm sure you noticed." Kisho nodded. "That's sort of what I mean. But before my Innocence weapon was made, I could see where elements originated, and I could use them. I could find those sources and make water appear from ice, or fire from light. I could control all of the elements and fight with them."

"And it was too hard to control?" Lavi crossed his arms, face solemn.

"Well, sort of. But mostly it was just a strong power and started to take a toll on me the more I used it. It had to take energy from my body to work, more than any normal Parasite-Type Exorcist. If I'd trained enough, the Panda said I would be at the level of a General." Kisho lifted his eyebrows in wonder. "But whether I would have held up until then was another story…so part of its power was taken and forged into an Equip type." Lavi shook his head as he thought back to when that had happened. "Getting it taken out wasn't pleasant, and it left my right eye weaker than the other so I just decided to cover it up." He touched his right eye. "It's just like the other one now, though. It'll be weird getting used to not wearing that patch anymore."

"You could wear it anyway."

"Nah." Lavi shrugged. "We never explained what happened to the others, but I'd better go tell Komui first. I'll tell him, then find Allen and explain why we left. You stay here with her but if she tries anything funny, wait outside for Matron to come back." Kisho pressed his lips into a line and nodded. Hyun-Ae was on their side but she had gradually seemed less and less trustworthy. After Lavi had gone Kisho looked down at the sleeping exorcist and jumped. Her eyes were open and she was staring up at him.

"Whoa!" Kisho yelled, lurching backward in his chair and almost making it fall backwards against the bed behind him.

"Neither of you trust me," she noted slyly. Kisho didn't say anything. "Puts you in kind of a tight spot, doesn't it?"

"Can you really tell me that no one would be the _least_ bit suspicious of you after what you just did?" Kisho demanded harshly, ignoring her question. "_Why _did you rip your Innocence out of your hands? If something was wrong, or if you just didn't want to be an exorcist then why didn't you go to Komui or Hevlaska?" Now Hyun-Ae didn't respond. "They just want to help! You've been here longer than me, but you don't seem to trust them." With a little jolt and feeling of guilt, Kisho realized he'd repeated Lenalee's words to him after he'd been reluctant to tell her what Hyun-Ae had told him. Now he understood what she'd been talking about.

"I usually don't trust anyone," Hyun-Ae said in a low voice. "And I never wanted to come here. I wanted to stay home and help my mother, _and _my younger brothers after our father killed himself. I never wanted any family except my own."

"What—" Kisho started but was cut off.

"It might be easy for _you_," Hyun-Ae went on accusingly, "since you were too young to remember any of your family."

"I remember my mother!" The Finder snapped defensively.

"She's not your birth mother, though, is she?" Hyun-Ae taunted, grinning ominously, and for an instant Kisho felt like slapping her.

"I'm not going to apologize for liking how my life is!" Kisho shouted, but against his will, fell into a seething quiet at Hyun-Ae's threatening glare.

"It must have been nice to be able to latch on to a new family here so easily," she said in a low tone. "I, on the other hand, am going back to the Asia Branch to ask Bak if I can go off on my own." Kisho began shaking his head.

"I don't understand you." Hyun-Ae shrugged and gave a little 'humph' of contempt.

"I didn't _want _you to understand me," she shouted, then grinned so unsettlingly that Kisho remembered Lavi's words and stood up from the chair. "After I figured out what you could do, I only wanted this." Without provocation Hyun-Ae lunged at Kisho with her left hand, grabbed a fistful of his shirt, and yanked him forward. She pressed her mouth over his for a moment, and then Kisho's eyes widened when he felt a stabbing pain in his lip. The teenager realized with a shock that Hyun-Ae was biting his lip so hard that she'd drawn blood. Kisho grabbed at her shoulders, trying to push her away, but stopped. She was still biting into his lip and if he pushed her away she could cause even more damage. A flood of disgust went through Kisho when he felt the exorcist sucking on his lip. _What the hell is she doing? _Finally Hyun-Ae pulled away and Kisho grabbed her shoulders and with a shove pushed her away, holding his bleeding lip. The area was throbbing and he could feel bite marks. Hyun-Ae wiped the blood from her mouth, then licked it off of her arm. Kisho leaned forward and looked at his hand. Blood from his mouth had pooled inside it, but when he calmed slightly and touched his lip again he knew the bite wasn't so serious, even if it was bleeding a lot, but he grimaced because it felt deep.

"Thanks." Hyun-Ae wiped her mouth off again.

"You're not welcome! Why the hell did you do that?" Kisho shouted, clenching a blood-covered fist and shaking it at her.

"I had to do that before I could tell you the rest. Your blood can heal people. Parasite-Type exorcists heal more quickly than normal, right? But I needed something more to heal myself."

"What was wrong with you?" Kisho demanded.

"Tease. I had Tease inside me. I had a piece of the Heart but it couldn't heal me, and when I heard how Allen had saved you, I wondered if two exorcists' Innocence had to be in contact for the healing to work. So I tried it, and I found out I was right." Kisho shook his head.

"When did you get infected with Tease?" He demanded. "And how did you get past Gatekeeper, anyway?"

"Noah. A month ago," came the too-casual answer. "I was on my own for a while on a mission and I got caught. They let me go so I would leak information. I just ignored them, but realized later I'd have to do something." Hyun-Ae shrugged. "As for the Gatekeeper, I used my Innocence to make him believe there was nothing wrong with me. It's a kind of mind-control…I was going to do the same thing to you earlier so you'd forget what I did, but we got found out."

_We! You mean you got found out! _Kisho opened his mouth to speak again but felt blood trailing down his chin and pressed a hand to the bite. He had to repeat himself a few times because his speech was muffled. "Why didn't you ask anyone for help? And I would have liked it a lot better if you'd asked me!"

"You mean you didn't enjoy that?" Hyun-Ae asked, sounding hurt.

"I hated it! Why would I like something like that from you?" Kisho yelled furiously but the female exorcist just laughed as if all Kisho's outburst had been was a child's tantrum.

"You must not mind something about me, since you don't bother to be all polite around me like you're supposed to." Kisho was taken aback and felt his face burning.

"That's….shut up! It's because you're so hard to deal with! You're crazy! And now you've just admitted that you might have betrayed everyone!"

"We're all crazy." Hyun-Ae sneered, ignoring his last statement, but her tone was solemn. "Some of us are just more open about it."

"Or no one but you is crazy," Kisho growled, crossing his arms. Hyun-Ae laughed again.

"You really are a child." Kisho scowled and rolled his eyes. "You mistrust me. But would you really mistrust me over the Earl? Hate me?" Kisho's face became startled, and then it hardened as he looked away. "Or over the Noah Clan?"

"You could have put everyone in danger," he told her fiercely. "I can't trust you that easily again."

"You never really did, did you? But that's fine. Emotions are better expressed if they're not forced. You should be honest and let your feelings happen naturally." Kisho eyed Hyun-Ae sharply.

"Are you actually trying to say that I might like you someday? Because I won't."

"Maybe you will when you stop being such a brat." Kisho snapped. He'd heard that enough and jumped up from his chair, pointing a blood-covered finger in anger.

"You'd better stay here, understand? You should have told someone—"

"If I had, I would have been killed," Hyun-Ae grunted. "Don't you get it?"

"No, I don't," Kisho replied sharply.

"Then go tell on me. If you do, it's a moot point now. I can't use Innocence anymore, and I'm also no threat. Like I said, I'm returning to the Asia Branch and asking Bak for permission to leave and go back home." Kisho clenched his teeth, then gave a sigh of frustration. "I'm waiting until Matron comes back to watch you, and then I'm going to tell Komui about all of this."

"That's fine with me. But I'm going to say again what I told you before—you really should stop what you're going. You're doing fine now, but you'll just get yourself and others in trouble someday."

"In trouble _how_?" Kisho questioned suspiciously.

"Don't use your healing ability anymore."

"I haven't used it at all."

"That doesn't matter. Using it will let people use it against you someday—either to hurt you, or to take advantage of you." Something in the fifteen-year-old snapped.

"So you want me to just sit and wait while people in front of me die? Is that what you mean? If you then you just wasted your breath! Congratulations!" Kisho was yelling louder than he ever had before and heard his voice echoing down the hall. He turned when footsteps ran hurriedly into the Infirmary. It was Matron and she was staring at him with a bewildered expression.

"What's going on? She needs to rest! I expected you to behave better. Really!" The Finder held up his hands.

"I'm sorry. And I'm glad you're back, because that's all I was waiting for." Before Kisho left he glared at Hyun-Ae. "If you try anything, I'll know about it."

"Kisho!" Matron admonished him warningly, but Hyun-Ae spoke up.

"It's alright, ma'am. He's right to be angry, but I promise it's all under control." Matron looked from Kisho to Hyun-Ae and sighed after a moment.

"If you're sure. But I don't want any more scenes like this. Understand?" Both people nodded. "Good." Kisho turned, clenched his teeth angrily, and stormed out just as Lavi and Komui walked past him into the Infirmary.

"Kisho, stay to explain your side of the story, please." Komui's voice stopped Kisho and broke him out of his angry state. More subdued now he walked back into the Infirmary and stood at the foot of Hyun-Ae's bed. The exorcist was sitting up and Matron was giving her a glass of water.

"Lavi tells me you forced yourself to De-Synchronize with your Innocence." Hyun-Ae nodded, looking steadily into Komui's eyes. "And that it was a Heart fragment….something that neither you nor Bak told me."

"He's telling the truth; I did," the Korean woman replied. "And Bak didn't know. I didn't know, either. We guessed that somehow my Synchronization level was high and that's why it seemed so powerful. But he didn't know. I swear." Komui at Lavi, who gave a brief and subtle nod, and then at Kisho, who was staring at Hyun-Ae with narrowed eyes.

Komui glanced back at Hyun-Ae and asked calmly, "Why did you purposely take it from your body? You could have harmed yourself or destroyed the Innocence."

"I don't want to be an exorcist anymore." A deep silence met her words. "If you'll give me permission," continued the woman, without showing any reaction to the silence, "then I want to go and tell Bak the same thing." Hyun-Ae nodded to Lavi. "I realized I'm sorry for putting this on you, but he's strong enough to handle it."

"That's not what was worrying me." Komui had a troubled look on his face." Hyun-Ae shook her head and Kisho couldn't help giving an annoyed snort.

"Shrimpy has some things to tell you," the female exorcist said while gracefully indicating him with a wave of her bandaged left hand. "One of the things is probably 'Sorry I'm bleeding all over the floor'." Matron, Lavi, and Komui turned sharply towards Kisho, who was reminded of the incident and touched his bitten lip. Lavi was gaping at Kisho with a baffled expression.

"How'd you do that to yourself?" He shook his head. "I wasn't gone that long, was I?"

"No—it's just that—she…" Kisho started to point at Hyun-Ae, but trailed off and let his hand drop. Even if it hadn't really been a kiss, that's all it would seem like. He needed to tell them, so he took a breath and quickly searched for a way to start.

"Nevermind, I'll tell them." Matron beckoned to Kisho to sit on a stool next to a vacant bed, and she left momentarily, then came back with a rolling tray of medical supplies. While she worked on Kisho, Lavi and Komui tuned into Hyun-Ae. "I did that to him." Komui and Lavi blinked in unison.

"You almost bit right through his lip," Matron stated as she pressed ice to Kisho's mouth. Lavi raised his eyebrows, then smiled in spite of the situation.

"What were you two doing? Kissing?" He joked, looking over at Kisho. His grin wavered slightly when he noticed the younger teenager's face was burning red. "You were?"

"Not exactly. I needed his blood." Lavi paled slightly and he looked nervously at the floor. "Obviously I never told you, but a month ago, I was caught by a Noah and he put Tease Golems inside of me. I managed to get this far without telling him anything, though."

"Keep pressing the ice on it," Matron instructed Kisho, who nodded once and cast his eyes towards the ground. Lavi had just looked over and caught the movement.

"You knew?" He asked, and Kisho glanced up and shook his head quickly.

"I just told him before you got back," Hyun-Ae said, and Lavi narrowed his eyes at her.

"I don't think I was talking to you."

"Hyun-Ae…" Matron began, frowning and shaking her head slowly. "You could have come to any of us. There was a reason you didn't come to us, but it wasn't just about how you felt. Everyone, including yourself, was in danger."

"Was what you said about having not told the Noah anything the truth?" Komui asked severely. "The Noah or the Earl?" Hyun-Ae looked at each of their faces for a moment, then slowly nodded once.

"I didn't tell them anything. I was just going to wait for them to realize that I wouldn't, and then die. But I found out what Kisho's blood could do."

"When did you find that out?" Komui questioned calmly, relaxing slightly.

"After everyone heard about what happened when Kisho got the Heart fragment to Walker. Both of them had the Dark Matter inside them destroyed—or at least gotten under control, in the Shrimp's case." Kisho automatically touched his chest with his right hand while pressing the ice to his mouth with the left. His heart had stopped hurting recently, and the cold sensation in his chest had gone. The Golem seemed to almost entirely be dissolved.

"Is that why you attacked him that time?" Matron asked, and something clicked with Kisho.

"That was the reason, wasn't it?" He mumbled around the ice pack. "You stole one of my knives and you were trying to cut me."

"And then myself." Kisho and Lavi made a face. "If our blood mixed, the same thing that happened just now would have happened then. But you made too big of a fuss and I had to forget about it."

"I wouldn't tell Shady any of this," Lavi said to Hyun-Ae while smirking grimly. "She'd rip your lungs out." The redhead threw Kisho a glance over his shoulder. "You and Lenalee have family with sibling complexes in common."

"She can try if she wants to," Hyun-Ae shrugged. "I don't care. Mostly because I'll be long gone by then. Will you give me your permission to leave, Komui?" The group looked up at Komui, wondering what he'd say. Finally, the man sighed.

"You may go. I don't want to force you to stay here if that's not what you want." Lavi appeared to have been taken by surprise and Kisho managed to anxiously bite his lip around the ice pack and immediately dissolved into muffled cursing. "But report straight to Bak and tell him exactly what you told me—and report to me by Golem once you've talked to him."

"Yes, sir." For once Hyun-Ae was being genuinely compliant without sounding disrespectful.

"You should rest now that this has all been sorted out."

"What's going to happen to her?" Lavi asked once he, Kisho, and Komui had departed the Infirmary and walked some distance away from it. Komui crossed his arms and frowned.

"She didn't betray The Black Order…and I believe that she was putting herself in danger to avoid putting us in danger. I don't appreciate the fact that she didn't tell us she was infected with Tease, but fortunately nothing bad became of it." Komui's gaze travelled down to Kisho, who was gingerly holding the ice to his lip. Matron had made him hold ice to it, then cleaned it, and finally had stitched the bite up since it was deep. It had stopped bleeding thanks to the ice and the pressure she'd put on it, and Kisho had learned new things today. The first was how to treat injuries like his, and the other was to not go near people like Hyun-Ae.

"Had a hard day, eh, kid? Everyone's still in the hot springs." Lavi nudged Kisho in a friendly way. "Want to go join them?"

"Do I ever," Kisho groaned, then looked around. Komui had stopped at his office.

"Well, goodnight, you two. Take it easy for now." Lavi and Kisho nodded.

"'Night," Lavi said as they left for the hot springs.

"Hyun-Ae's leaving," Kisho heard himself saying. Lavi looked down at him curiously.

"Are you upset?"

"No…this whole thing is just strange." Lavi sighed agreeingly.

"Yeah, but it's over, at least. Just relax for now like Komui said. And at least you won't have to put up with her anymore." They walked into the men's changing rooms and got into their swimming trunks, leaving their clothes in cabinets in the walls, and walked out towards the springs. "I didn't know she was into that kind of crazy stuff, though," he remarked. Kisho gave him a confused glance.

"What do you mean?"

"Like randomly kissing someone. Did you like it?" Lavi grinned. Kisho looked at the ground for a moment before glaring at Lavi and throwing a towel he had over his shoulder in the exorcist's face. "I was joking! Well, not really…but come on! You got your first kiss." Allen, Chaoji, Krory, and Toma looked up. They were all sitting in a large hot pool and of course couldn't help hearing Lavi's yell. Kisho groaned.

"Someone did what?" Allen asked dumbly.

"Who did?" Toma questioned with interest.

"Must have been a birthday kiss," Krory noted, and they all laughed as Kisho and Lavi climbed into the hot spring.

"Who was it from?" Chaoji asked and Kisho leaned his head back and sighed up at the sky.

"No one that I want to talk about," Kisho answered in a low grumble.

"Kisho and Hyun-Ae sitting in a tree…." Lavi started chanting, and Kisho swept his arms through the pool and splashed Lavi with a wave of hot water, causing him to yell and cover his eyes with an arm just in time.

"Hey….Lavi!" Allen exclaimed suddenly, having been studying Lavi for the past few minutes, knowing there was something different about him. "Your eyes….you're not wearing your eye patch!"

**Allen was the first one to get it. Now Lavi doesn't wear the eye patch—sorry to people who liked it as part of Lavi's character image….but anyway, yep, there we go. My idea about Lavi's right eye. Might not be what Hoshino had in mind but eh….it was cool to plan out.**

**Thank you for reading! ^^ Thank you as always!**

**Hyun-Ae is the tiniest bit "not all there"—but it's interesting to make a character like that. I mean a good interesting even if she acts weird sometimes.**


	50. Heal

**I have my writing style mostly figured out now…even though I feel like this chapter sucks for some reason. But it's necessary to get on with the story so here we go.  
That said…I hope you enjoy the chapter! XD Thank you for reading!  
I don't own the characters that Hoshino Katsura created. I just own the ones I made up.**

**Happy Holidays!**

* * *

Howling Innocence Chapter 46 – Heal

"We'll be arriving at the station soon." The man who'd taken their tickets earlier was at Lavi, Allen, Kanda, and Kisho's train compartment. "Please get ready to depart." Nodding once, Kisho made a quick bow, then slid the door shut after the man left. Turning to the three exorcists he took a breath, then sighed. He felt a little dizzy, a remnant of the sudden fever he'd gotten last night before going to bed, but this morning it had been gone and he just felt a little weak. It was probably because of everything that had gone on with Hyun-Ae. _She really is annoying,_ Kisho thought with an frustrated expression, but he forced it away and spoke up.

"Well, you heard him," Kisho said after the man left. "But," He added hurriedly as Kanda, Lavi, and Allen stood up, "there's just one thing…..things here are still pretty tense from a few years ago. Control over Taiwan has been tossed around a lot—first from Portugal, to the Netherlands, to Spain, to China…." Kanda cut him off before he could get any further in his list.

"Get to the point. None of that changes what we have to do," he said harshly.

"Just listen to him, Kanda," Allen ordered crossly, rubbing his head a little irritably. That was one thing he had taken an immediate liking to—since he was a General he could give out orders, but he only felt comfortable giving out minor ones, and that seemed to be expected of him for now anyway. He wasn't carrying around any Innocence cubes yet—something else he was glad for. The only reason for that was because Kisho was on this mission and having so many Innocence cubes around could possibly make him be put under their control and try to find their Accommodators. _Well...I wouldn't be on this mission if I'd been given some Innocence. I don't want to leave and start travelling yet. _Generals were required to travel the world with Innocence cubes in order to find more Acommodators. Allen was strongly against doing that; he was still getting used to being a General. It had been a shock to Allen when Komui had called him to his office and, along with Cloud Nyne, explained things to him and when Allen left he was a General. The reason for Komui's sudden request for him to be checked by Hevlaska made sense now. It was to make sure his Sync rate was high enough, and it was, though most everyone had known or suspected. Allen was at a 270% Synchronization rate with his Innocence. He'd gone back to the cafeteria after that, a little dazed, and Lenalee had coaxed the news out of him. He'd been greeted with silence right away, and then excited congratulations even by exorcists and Finders who didn't know him, but Lenalee had pointed out that he'd become somewhat of a role model for not just the Main Branch.

"Alright," Kisho said quickly, realizing Kanda was right, "the point is, right now Taiwan's under the control of Japan. Komui secured rights for us to be here, and our presence is expected, but we still need to be careful. People are really tense. Soldiers are occupying the town, and they aren't very popular with anyone." Allen's expression became dark with grim comprehension.

"A war," he said. "So there's even more of a chance than usual that there will be Akuma." Kisho nodded.

"That's right." Kanda scoffed and swiftly moved towards the door; Kisho stepped aside.

"Again, none of this changes our mission. Let's get going so we can finish this as quickly as possible." Allen, Lavi, and then Kisho filed out of the compartment after him.

"Welcome to Taipei," Kisho announced as the four stepped into the main heart of the town moments after disembarking from the train. "This railway was just developed, and the city's now an important center for oversea trading, even with all the country's been through."

"So that was all in the report you got?" Allen asked.

"Yep," the young Finder responded. "I read a lot of it on the ship, and some more on the train. The stuff about a trading center is as far as I got before we arrived." Kanda scowled at Allen and Kisho; Allen glared back and Kisho lowered his head, trying to bite his tongue. Getting into a fight wouldn't help the mission go any better. Lavi stepped between them and held up his hands with a sigh.

"Come on, guys. Let's just calm down and get to the mission." Kanda gave his trademark scoff of annoyance and looked off at the town while Lavi turned towards Kisho and Allen.

"You said it was likely there'd be Akuma so let's get done here as fast as possible. Do either of you sense Innocence—never saying that again—or Akuma?" Kisho and Allen shook their heads at the same time. Kisho could find Innocence if it was nearby, and Allen could still detect Akuma, albeit without the use of a cursed eye since his left eye was normal now. It was because his Anti-Akuma Weapon had a bit of the Heart, and Allen supposed since opposites attract, that was why he could sense Akuma when they were nearby. Neither of them had felt anything since they'd arrived. Lavi sighed again, then stretched the achiness out of his joints from sitting still so long. "Well, no use getting upset. Let's start searching the city and maybe one of you will pick up on something." A few minutes after they began walking the streets, Allen remembered something.

"Hey," he said to Kisho, and the younger male looked up at him, "you speak Japanese and Chinese, so you could ask around to see if anyone has seen the Earl or Akuma." Kisho hesitated. "Ask the soldiers if you can and ask the townspeople too."

"I could definitely speak Japanese….but as for Chinese…I don't know."

"Yuu could go rough up the soldiers for us," Lavi grinned and got a scalding look from Kanda.

"I'm not doing anything for anyone."

"Haven't you been studying more lately?" Allen pressed Kisho. "I even know some Chinese now. I'll help you."

"Thank you…but that's not it," Kisho said. "I learned Chinese in China. I don't know if the dialect here is different, or what. Plus there are some people who don't even speak Chinese. Some speak a kind of aboriginal language. With the country being occupied, though, I'd say it'll become a colony again but of Japan…." Allen crossed his arms and sighed, then gave Kisho a friendly shove forward.

"Don't worry so much about detail. Right now we just need to do what we came here to do." Kisho seemed about to respond, but suddenly he just stopped in his tracks. Allen grabbed him by the collar and tugged him aside so the person that had been walking behind them wouldn't crash into him. The man, looking like a soldier, stared angrily at Allen and Kisho but walked off to the left down a quiet-looking street without saying anything. "Watch it," Allen hissed to Kisho, thankful the soldier hadn't decided to pick a fight. But there was no response from the Finder; Kisho was staring vacantly, his eyes cloudy and face emotionless. Allen called ahead to Lavi and Kanda, causing them to turn and run back once they saw that they were the only ones walking.

"What's the holdup?" Lavi asked cheerfully. His grin disappeared when he looked down at Kisho. "He's in that trance thing again, huh?" He asked, looked at Kisho for a second longer, then moved his gaze around town.

"What should we do?" Allen asked grimly, sounding more concerned than Lavi, who had dealt with this thing before. Lavi glanced down at Kisho, his expression unclear.

"Well, we should stay close to him." The three exorcists stared at each other; whoever stayed would protect Kisho from Akuma, even if exorcists were top priority. Because Kisho could find Innocence, and because his blood could damage Akuma, even though he was a Finder he had been given a little more priority but had still been given the OK to go on missions. If he died, nothing bad would happen, but like with anyone who worked at The Black Order that outcome was best avoided.

"I'm not babysitting," Kanda said with a growl.

"Last time," Lavi said quickly, "Kikun just went off on his own. We followed him to keep an eye on him, Yuu, and we found an Innocence"

"You mean he got attacked. And don't call me Yuu," the exorcist snapped.

"We could ask him to go look for the Innocence, since he doesn't look like he's going to on his own," Allen stated, and Lavi nodded agreeingly, going on as if he hadn't heard Kanda.

"Good idea. We just need to get the Innocence, make sure the Akuma are all taken care of, and we're done." Lavi stretched his arms and grinned. "Easy, right?"

"Sounds great," Allen agreed. The mission was to clear all the Akuma out of the town and get the Innocence—not necessarily in that order. Since Kisho was young and hadn't been a Finder for very long, Toma had been sent in to help. Allen nodded while Kanda looked ready to be done with the mission. Moving in front of Kisho and bending down until he was at the other male's eye level, Allen noted that his clouded gaze was unnerving; there was no light in his eyes when he was in this state, and his pupil was so dilated that his eyes looked black instead of brown.

"Do you know where the Innocence is? Could you take us to it quickly?" A quick nod caught Allen's eye and he moved aside as Kisho began walking ahead. Kanda and Lavi also moved out of the way and walked beside him. Komui had told them to stay close to Kisho when he was in his trance state, so that's what they were doing now, whether they felt stupid having to babysit or not. Kisho stopped suddenly, causing Allen to bump into him. They heard Kisho grunt as if in discomfort, and saw him holding his head tightly.

"What's going on?" Kisho heard Lavi ask in confusion, and the ringing in his ears slowly faded, as did the pain in his head.

"I didn't find it." It was easy to guess because of the frustrated looks on the exorcists' faces.

"No. You took us some of the way but just stopped." Allen quickly filled Kisho in, and the Finder looked puzzled.

"I can't hear anything now. It's like the Innocence was nearby, but it….moved…" He shook his head. "It shouldn't have, unless someone has it." A grimace overtook the four males' faces as they realized what that could mean.

"What if someone _does_ have it? Someone like an Akuma, or a Noah? An Akuma would stick around with it so we'll know in a bit but….but if a Noah has it…" Lavi said, looking grim. Allen finished the sentence for him.

"A Noah would destroy it." He looked sharply at Kisho. "Can you sense anything like an Innocence fragment being destroyed? Or anything?" Kisho closed his eyes for a moment, then opened them and shook his head.

"No, nothing like that." He paused and his expression became troubled. "I can't sense anything. I don't know where the Innocence went, but I at least don't sense anything bad. I mean….somehow I think I'd know if it had been destroyed. I think it's still around here," he offered, hoping that would momentarily ease their worries.

"Well, you've been a great help," Kanda growled. "That's as good as knowing nothing." Kisho felt a ripple of annoyance.

"If you have any better ideas…" He started to speak sharply, but took a breath and tried to calm down. "Let me know." Allen and Lavi exchanged surprised glances. "Otherwise don't talk just to insult me—save your breath for important things," he said, and wondered why he was suddenly annoyed with the way Kanda was talking to him. He talked to most people like that; it wasn't just him. Lavi had been shaking his head in warning as Kisho spoke but it was too late; Kanda's eyes narrowed, but before he could say or do anything an explosion went off right next to the four people. Lavi swiftly hooked an arm around Kisho's middle and jumped away, while Allen and Kanda leapt away as well but activated their Anti-Akuma Weapons. Lavi landed a safe distance from the explosion and set Kisho down. The two of them glanced quickly about and saw people fleeing away from the burning wreckage of a building. Lavi drew his Anti-Akuma Weapon leg and activated it in a flash of green.

"Show-offs," he commented, a look of fierce anticipation on his face. "Level Ones aren't going to get the better of us." He turned to Kisho briefly. "Stay here and run if you need to, but this won't take long." Allen and Kanda had already cut through twenty or so Level Ones and Lavi's flaming snake attack flew upwards so he wouldn't damage the already burning city and incinerated about twenty-five Akuma. Twirling his weapon, Lavi saw an Akuma overhead and saw it fire towards where Kisho was standing. Kisho moved automatically, pushing himself to get out of the way as fast as he could. He heard the explosion and felt the heat behind him. Looking back he saw Lavi destroy the Akuma and rapidly catch up with him. As they ran Kisho panted out a question.

"How many were there?" Lavi glanced briefly over at Kisho, then looked back ahead with an expression of concentration.

"Two dozen or something like that…I lost count."

Just ahead Allen and Kanda were fighting back to back, their swords both drawn. As Lavi and Kisho approached they lunged away from each other and slashed some Akuma in half, then leapt back to their original position. As they scanned the area for any more Akuma, their eyes fell on Kisho and Lavi as they ran up to them.

"Are you both alright?" Kisho asked and received two short nods from his friends.

"We're fine, and all of the Akuma here are destroyed. They were only Level Ones," Allen reported. Lavi scratched his head.

"Same here." Kanda looked skyward suddenly and shouted a warning.

"Scatter!" The group dodged just in time to avoid a virus bullet hurtling towards them, and a huge cloud of smoke was thrown up from the explosion. The three exorcists were knocked down by the force of it, but Allen leapt back up immediately and attacked the Akuma, shredding its body into pieces. It burst apart with a shriek of agony. Looking back, Allen spotted Lavi, Kanda, and Kisho sitting up, then jumping to their feet and checking themselves for injuries. Kisho grunted and Lavi glanced over at him sharply and saw that black stars had started appearing across Kisho's hands. Allen rushed up then and stopped abruptly when he saw them.

"Oh, no…." Kisho moaned, gazing at the black stars. The bullet hadn't hit him directly, otherwise he wouldn't still be here, but he'd been closer than the others and must have gotten enough traces of it to get the virus. The Finder looked up at the others, but they seemed to be alright, aside from being a little beaten up from the explosion. Kisho wasn't sure what to say or do. There wasn't much he could do and it'd be all over soon. Kisho lifted his gaze to his friends' faces again and saw them change from being grim to stunned.

"Look," Lavi breathed, indicating with his hands that Kisho should glance down again. Kisho didn't want to see himself disintegrate but guessed that it would be over soon, so he looked and gasped. The black stars were fading. They changed in color from dark gray to light, and then vanished altogether. The Finder opened and closed his palms.

"You're immune, too," Allen declared, letting out a breath, feeling like he'd had half a heart attack. "It's the Innocence…before, my curse gave me immunity, but I don't have it anymore….but now we both have Innocence in our blood."

"Enough with explanations," Kanda ordered. "No one cares. We need to move." As the group ran through the town, they heard shouting and crying from the townspeople. The explosions had just left circles of charred ground in several areas and luckily hadn't started fires, but he could see that buildings had collapsed, leaving many people injured. Kisho was about to yell to the exorcists that they should stop, but suddenly they came to a halt on their own when Allen stopped running.

"We need to stay and help the people that got hurt," Allen declared firmly. Lavi hesitated, scratching his head, and Kanda glowered at Allen.

"What about the Akuma?" Kanda demanded. "We need to destroy them first."

"Let's break into teams," Lavi offered hastily. "I'll go with Yuu. We'll take care of Akuma. Allen can take out any Akuma, and Kikun can help people."

"Alright," Allen and Kisho responded, though Kisho wondered if he'd be any help if Allen needed help fighting Akuma. Then he realized that he wasn't being paired with Allen so he could help the exorcist; it was the other way around. Kisho would be helpless if he was cornered by an Akuma. He'd be in a bind even if he encountered a Level One.

"Watch your backs out there," Lavi told them with a slight grumble. "I just got a bad feeling about this."

"Alright," Allen assured his friend. "We'll contact each other with our Golems and meet up later." Lavi turned and rushed off after Kanda, leaving Allen and Kisho alone on the dusty street. Kisho gave a tense complaint and turned in a circle, trying to listen for anyone hurt that was nearby. He called out, hoping to hear someone call back, and felt his heart thud heavier when someone called weakly back.

"_Help me," _the voice said in Chinese and Kisho was relieved he could understand the plea. It sounded just a bit different than the Chinese he'd learned, but it was Chinese nonetheless, and he was willing to make any effort on his part to converse with the person and compensate for possible dialect differences. It was an emergency.

"_Where are you?" _Kisho yelled, cupping his hands around his face, while Allen also tried to pinpoint the person's location. A whimper followed Kisho's statement and then the voice sounded again.

"…_Over here…please help me."_ Kisho ran off towards the voice, finally confident he knew where it was coming from. The air was completely clear now and as he ran towards the voice he saw an arm waving from a pile of debris.

"_I'm here!" _He yelled, and skidded to a stop beside the pile of debris. Allen was close behind him and moved around to the other side of the debris pile. The voice asking for help belonged to a person that looked like he was in his mid-twenties, and his lower body was half under a bunch of wood beams and brick. Kisho felt a wave of dismay and alarm, but tried to push it aside. He had to get this person out and ease his suffering as soon as possible. He yanked his medical supply bag from his shoulder and thrust it at Allen, who put it on the ground next to him.

"_We'll help."_ The man took a shallow breath and nodded once, waiting as Kisho stared at the beams and bricks, trying to calculate which ones he should move first. If he moved the wrong one, the whole pile could collapse on the man, killing him. First Kisho began removing bricks from the pile wherever he could, and only if he knew doing so wouldn't make everything collapse on the trapped man. Allen helped out and together they quickly cleared much of the rubble away. Soon they spotted a large section of wooden beams that seemed to have been part of a wall that was now pinning the man down. Kisho grabbed one side, then rose slowly to his feet, and waited until Allen had gripped the other side to begin lifting. It was heavy, but within a minute they had carefully lifted it up. Unexpectedly, Allen's Innocence activated and he gave a yelp of surprise and discomfort, for it seemed to have activated forcefully against Allen's will. He kept holding the wall section even as his arm transformed, though, but Kisho's eyes had closed tightly and sweat was beading on his face. "Not now…" he moaned. Allen looked up in alarm and saw Kisho's grip loosening.

"Don't let go!" He shouted, alarmed, and the Finder's hands suddenly gripped the wood tighter.

"Get it off of him, now," Kisho grunted, his eyes opening; Allen noticed they were slightly glazed, but he heaved the wooden object upward with Kisho and together they moved it off to the side.

"Let's get the rest off him and make sure he's alright." Allen began lifting bricks and spars of wood away from the man's body, and Kisho did the same, but didn't speak. His movements, though careful, seemed involuntary. Allen noticed but was too preoccupied with the injured man to really process what it meant. Finally the last of the rubble had been cleared away from the man and Allen began checking to see how badly he'd been hurt. His breathing sounded painful, but as far as the exorcist could tell, he may have a broken rib. The man grimaced every time he breathed in and out, but it didn't seem like either of his lungs were punctured or collapsed, thankfully. He had large splinters of wood stuck in his skin. Allen raised his head and looked at Kisho. "What are you waiting for? I don't know how to treat him. Help me, would you?" He demanded, then finally noticed the vacant look in Kisho's eyes, and the involuntary way he was moving, as if something was controlling him. Something faintly glowing green caught Allen's eye, and he looked down. The green was coming from the now unconscious man's right hand, green light streaming between his fingers.

"Innocence," he said, realization suddenly hitting him. "It _was_ moving because he had it…but where did he get it?" Allen reached for the man's right hand and touched the fingers, gently trying to pry them open, but they wouldn't move. "Come on," he hissed quietly. Kisho reached his left hand out suddenly, laid it over the unconscious man's hand, and the light glowed momentarily brighter. When Kisho lifted his hand away, the Innocence cube was resting between his pointer and middle finger. "Great," Allen exclaimed, "hurry and put it somewhere safe, then let's help him." Kisho slipped the glowing cube into a pouch on the side of his pant leg. Then, unexpectedly, the Finder blinked and Allen saw that his eyes were clear again. "You back now?" Kisho nodded slowly, looking like he'd woken up after a long rest. "I'll tell you what happened later," he promised quickly, seeing the question on the teenager's lips. "Right now let's help him."

* * *

**Sorry to cut it off right there, but I wanted to make this chapter a little short. I get carried away when I write sometimes. So the next chapter will be Chapter 46 part two!**

It's fun to write reactions between the official characters and my character; I'm really enjoying it. I don't want to make anyone seem like a pain; I just want the characters to all stay the way they are and interact normally. It's fun to make Kanda and Allen interact, and Kanda and Kisho. It's pretty easy since I know how Kanda usually reacts to everyone (seems that he's not as cranky around Lenalee which is nice) and it's always fun to have Kanda and Lavi interact. They're close friends but no one would ever say anything since Kanda would blow a gasket. They way Kanda and Lavi get along is by fighting...and if I believe that, I wonder if my sister and I are close. Hmm..

**Hope this doesn't seem like bragging, but Kanda's line of "I'm not doing anything for anyone" was something I thought he'd say because of his personality, and I thought it would be funny-he doesn't seem to like people very much, but as an exorcist Kanda actually does do lots of things for people, whether it's the goal he has in mind or not. Kanda's a pretty cool guy even if right on the surface he's a jerk. XD That's the way I see it anyway. No offense to anyone since I called Kanda a jerk.**


	51. Heal Part 2

**Chapter 46 - Heal Pt. 2**

**Alrighty! Here's chapter 46 part two. I don't own the characters or anything else except my characters.**

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"Oh! Right!" Kisho exclaimed in response to Allen's prompt, and he set about examining the injuries of the man they'd found after digging through a destroyed building. Carefully Kisho lifted the man's shirt gently and placed his hands on the man's torso while Allen waited nearby, watching and listening for Akuma.

"_What are you doing?"_ the person asked weakly when he felt Kisho's hands pressing on him.

"_Seeing where you're hurt," _Kisho replied quietly, keeping his voice calm, though inside he was anxious. He had been taught what to do for a broken rib but until now had never actually treated one on his own yet. He pressed his hands a little harder to keep the man's ribs still. Getting the patient to breathe well was important when they may have broken ribs. Pressing firmly but gently on the injured area would make it so that the patient could take deep breaths but not be in as much pain because the ribs were being kept still. _"Breathe in deep, but if it hurts, stop." _The man nodded once briefly and inhaled, then winced a moment later, and stopped. Kisho felt the ribs underneath his palm and could tell what was wrong.

"What's the diagnosis?" Allen asked, and without looking up Kisho responded.

"A broken rib—maybe just cracked, I don't know—some bruises and scratches. But it's better than I thought. Luckily it was just one rib." Kisho pulled off his Finder's cloak and rolled it into a pillow, then pressed it against the man's torso and asked Allen to hold it there, and he did while Kisho rummaged in his bag. He then asked the man to stand up, slowly, and when he did Kisho pulled out a couple strips of black cloth and wound them around the man's midsection, tying the cloak to his body for padding and to keep his rib immobilized. He didn't tie it too tight, but tight enough to allow the man to take deep breaths so he wouldn't develop complications while the rib healed. _"It will hurt," _he told the man, _"but every hour take deep breaths, if you can." _Hoping he'd gotten the basic point across, Kisho felt a rush of relief when the man nodded and took another deep breath, this time bracing for the pain. _"Can you walk? We'll go somewhere safe. Is there a hospital?"_ The man nodded and pointed down the street.

"_I'll show you the way," _he murmured, his voice stiff with pain.

"_Thank you,"_ Kisho said, and together they set off, keeping their ears and eyes open for any more injured people. It was slow going; Allen and Kisho, supporting the injured man between them, took care to not make any sudden movements and every now and then Kisho would ask to stop. While Allen supported the man from behind, Kisho would firmly but gently press both hands to the man's chest, where the broken rib was, and instruct him to take as deep a breath as he could. This was so there would be no fluid buildup which would lead to dangerous complications, like pneumonia, later. Sometime later, after following the man's directions to the hospital, the small group finally reached it. The building was slightly damaged, but it was better than Kisho had hoped, because several buildings around it were completely destroyed. Carefully, Allen and Kisho took the man inside and looked through the main floor for a bed that was empty, but they found none and were sharply told by nurses to go upstairs, so they did. Allen and Kisho carefully lifted the man up the stairs, trying not to jar him. After looking through a few of the halls on the second floor, they managed to find an empty bed for the man, and took him over to it. Giving a grateful, but painful, smile the man sighed and leaned back on the bed, closing his eyes.

"_Use your hand to keep the rib still. As much as you can, alright?" _Kisho spoke Chinese the best that he could, using hand gestures to make sure he got his point across, and he felt relieved when the injured man mimicked what Kisho had done earlier. _"That's right. Don't forget." _The man nodded once. _"I'll find the doctor, but we have to go after that. I'm sorry."_ Turning to Allen, Kisho said, "I'm going to make sure the nurses will take care of him." There were a few nurses around, but they were busy with other patients; although they had noticed the three people come in they hadn't said anything to them or made much eye contact. As Kisho approached a nurse a few beds over, he saw that she was examining a young patient who had a thick bandage over his right eye. The nurse's mouth twitched as he approached but she didn't look up until Kisho spoke. _"Excuse me,_" Kisho said, lowering his head politely.

"What?" She asked sharply in English. "I'm busy, and so is everyone else. I know you brought that man in, but I can't go see him just now." The nurse glanced over at the dozing man. "You immobilized his rib, right?" Kisho nodded. "Do you have any medical training?"

"Yes," Kisho replied, knowing where she was going. He wanted to help at the hospital, and even more wanted to directly heal the man Allen and he had found. But he could only heal one person and afterward was left weak. He wouldn't be help to many people by doing that. He glanced at the man he and Allen had found. A broken rib could be life-threatening, but Kisho was sure there were people with fatal injuries here. And the other problem was that although Allen would be fine on his own, better off than Kisho, the Finder still didn't want to let him go off on his own. If Lavi and Kanda showed up and Allen went with them, then that would help things. But he had no idea where they were. Allen glanced around, then approached Kisho and the nurse.

"Kanda and Lavi have a Golem. I'll try getting a hold of them to see where they are." Kisho looked over his shoulder and up at Allen and felt a wave of gratitude; the exorcist was already starting to speak to Timcampy. "Anyone there?" There was silence for a moment, then:

"_Let me answer it! That you, Moyashi?"_

"Don't call me—!" Allen almost yelled, then started again. "Yes, it's me, idiot Lavi. Where are you guys?"

"_We just dropped some injured people off at a hospital, then looked for some more, but there's no one around. We're doubling back to the hospital now."_

"Good," Allen exclaimed. "Come back inside and meet me there." Lavi's voice sounded concerned when he spoke next.

"_Why? What's going on?"_

"They're a little short-handed at the hospital, so Kisho's going to stay and help." Loud static crackled from Timcampy and the golden Golem twitched a little.

"_What do you think you're doing? We don't have time for that!"_ Kanda shouted, and Kisho forced his irritation away.

"We already found the Innocence, Kanda—" he grimaced briefly at the slip-up, "I mean, sir…and I don't sense any others around now that we have. The only thing left is the Akuma." A scoff came from Timcampy, something that almost made Kisho and Allen laugh.

"_Easy for you to say," _Kanda muttered._ "You don't have to fight."_ More static crackled and Lavi's voice, sounding uncomfortable, was heard next

"_We're just about at the hospital….so we'll see you in a few, Moyashi."_ The connection fizzled out before Allen could yell at the stupid rabbit.

"Well…." Allen said, and an awkward silence stretched out for a moment. Then the exorcist put Timcampy in Kisho's hand. "Keep him nearby so you can get a hold of us when you need to. When the Akuma are gone we'll contact you." Kisho nodded.

"Thanks. I'll take care of him," the Finder said quietly, watching as Timcampy flew up to perch on his shoulder. Suddenly, Kisho didn't want Allen to leave. It was almost as if he was worrying that once the exorcists left the hospital, he'd never see them again. Was that a true sense of unease coming from the Heart, or just the normal worrying about someone? Whatever it was, Kisho painfully knew he couldn't focus on it. Allen was an exorcist, and Kisho was a Finder. They had different jobs to do. Swallowing, he looked at Allen and said, "See you later. Thanks for…." He trailed off. "If anything happens….I'll come and…." The exorcist gave a short laugh.

"Do you only have that much confidence in people?" Kisho shook his head in anxiety.

"No! You—you know what I meant, right? I just want to do everything I can...you know—you heard—" Allen clenched his left fist.

"I heard; I know." There was another pause. "I have to go." The exorcist turned quickly and shot down the stairs to the first floor. The nurse lifted her gaze to the ceiling, then tapped Kisho's shoulder.

"If you're ready, then maybe you'd like to help?" Kisho looked around, trying to get an idea of which patients needed immediate help. There were some with broken bones, some with cuts and gashes like the child the nurse was administering, some who simply looked like that had cases of shock, and others who were so burned or otherwise injured that a knot of shock and pity formed in Kisho's stomach.

"I'm ready." The young teenager noticed that the hospital, luckily, had several very useful things, such as a sink and soap, several supply cabinets, and many other hygienic and medical supplies that would make things a lot easier for the patients and the nurses. Kisho only had some of the medical supplies that he saw here. "Good. Then clean yourself up." Kisho obeyed, quickly washing his hands and walking swiftly back to where the nurse was focusing her attention on the injured child again. Her face was kind and patient as she spoke to him.

"_Your eye will heal. Just stay in bed and leave the bandage alone. You'll be fine, A-Yu."_ The child sniffed and nodded, smiling faintly, before settling down in the bed and closing his visible eye. The nurse turned and led Kisho to another bed with a woman lying in it, and said in an undertone, "He almost lost his right eye when a piece of debris hit him. I removed the debris, and cleaned his eye. It went well, though he may have trouble seeing out of that eye even when it's completely healed, but thankfully there's no sign of infection now. But the bandage will need changing soon. If I'm too busy, then I want you to check on him and do that in an hour." Kisho nodded; changing bandages was one of the many things he'd learned about treating injuries. The woman whose bed Kisho and the nurse now stood by looked expressionlessly up at them. Bandages covered the left side of her face, both her arms, and all around her neck. She was a patient Kisho had noticed before. The injured woman looked at the nurse, then at him and he smiled carefully. "She got burned after an explosion started a fire."

Allen and Kisho had discussed this earlier: it seemed that not many people knew what has caused all of the damage and injuries. Most may think that it had just been a freak accident. They had just barely gotten to the subject of what to do regarding how much they told people about Akuma if they didn't know what they were, and if either one of them decided that they should. Kisho listened carefully as the nurse spoke again, still referring to the woman who'd been burned. "She has only spoken Japanese, but she hasn't said anything for a while, now though….probably because of the burns." Nodding absentmindedly, Kisho obeyed the nurse's commands—to wash the burns and put new bandages on. He tried to work as best he could, since the floor they were on was for serious but not critical patients. The nurses, it seemed, had helped stabilize patients on this floor but then had filtered back down to the other floors to take care of more critical patients. In silence, the nurse and Kisho gently unrolled the used bandages from the woman's arms, and then started to gently wash them. The nurse padded the area dry and Kisho saw that she had removed the tops of the blisters sometime before he'd come. As she gently wrapped the burns, the woman ground her teeth and bore the pain in silence, all the while giving the two piercing glares with her dark brown eyes.

Kisho had just started unwinding the bandages from her neck and began gently washing them. This burn area looked like it might be infected, so Kisho and the nurse took more care with cleaning and bandaging it. _"Are you with the exorcists?" _This took Kisho aback and he didn't reply for a minute or two. _"Are you?" _She asked again, more insistently.

"_Yes….I am."_ It hadn't been a casual question. She wouldn't have casually asked it, and there was no hint of curiosity in her voice. There was something almost like a challenge in her tone. She must have come in contact with exorcists before, or heard about them, and didn't exactly have a good experience with them. But maybe she was a person Lavi and Kanda had brought to the hospital.

"_You should get out of here. Those creatures are going to destroy the whole town."_

"What did she say?" The nurse asked quietly, moving to where Kisho was standing so she could get to the bandages on her face. Kisho waited nearby, ready to unroll new bandages for the woman.

"…That we should get out of here." A stronger feeling of unease was making the back of Kisho's neck prickle. "That creatures are going to destroy the whole city." If this female patient knew about exorcists, she probably knew about Akuma. The nurse gave him a puzzled, wary look.

"Creatures?" Kisho nodded and handed her the new strip of bandages.

"My friend that left earlier—he's an exorcist. We came to this town on a mission to look for something and to get rid of those creatures. They're the ones that caused all of this," he indicated the patients, and indirectly referred to the damage throughout the town, "to happen." Quickly wrapping the new bandages around the woman's face, Kisho's heart jolted with shock when the nurse turned and gripped his shoulders fiercely.

"What are these creatures?" She said in a quiet, but deadly, tone. Kisho bit his lip and averted his gaze slightly but the nurse shook him, indicating she wanted him to keep eye contact.

"….Akuma, that's what they're called, can be destroyed by exorcists. That's what my friend left to do earlier—destroy them. He was talking to two other exorcists and they're all fighting them now."

"We can't leave," the nurse said, releasing Kisho and walking around him to another patient's bed. "These people aren't in any shape to leave." The young patient they were standing by now wasn't too badly injured. He had small bandages around his arms and some on his face, but he mostly seemed to be in a state of shock, and was just staring at the ceiling with dull eyes. An IV was stuck into his right arm and a cold cloth was draped across his forehead. Kisho rushed to the sink and washed his hands, then returned and picked the cloth up, went to the sink again, and returned after quickly wringing it out. He placed it gently across the young man's head again, and he blinked a few times but still didn't talk. His eyes seemed to be taking in more instead of just staring blankly. "That's a good sign," the nurse breathed. "He was talking hysterically right when he came in, saying that a person right near him got attacked by something, and that the person turned into a pile of ash." She looked at Kisho. "These Akuma….they just….appear?" Kisho hesitated. How much should he tell her? And how could he say enough without making her panic? Nurse Yue—they'd exchanged their names just a moment ago—cared a lot about her patients. She would worry even if he didn't tell her.

"Usually Akuma are summoned, but they have to be created first." He stopped, wondering how to explain.

"By who?" The nurse asked. Kisho hesitated, but just as he opened his mouth to say something, the woman who had warned him to leave earlier spoke, causing the nurse and the Finder to look over at her.

"Someone called the Millennium Earl creates and summons them. Sometimes, so Akuma will be created, a person sells himself to the Earl."Brokers. What if his home had been destroyed by a Broker? Kisho stared at the woman, his heart thumping. "Or sells herself, and doesn't know what she got herself into."

"A Broker…" The woman laughed, cutting Kisho off, and when she spoke it was in English. So she could speak it after all.

"There are still Akuma around here. The Earl doesn't want you to get any farther."

"Why did you do this?"Kisho gestured to the patients in the room. "Taiwan just got through being done with war! This country's people have been through enough! And hasn't being caught up in the attack you created taught you something?"

"I don't care about that. You're trapped, so be quiet and come with me."Kisho stared at her, sure now she was a Broker. He hadn't recognized her because of the bandages, but even if he had she was a patient. Brokers were dangerous—they could call the Earl to make him turn someone into an Akuma, and they often had weapons that they'd use at a moment's notice. Even though this woman was injured she might have to be attacked if Kisho wanted to get out of this situation unharmed.

Kisho shook his head once, grabbed Timcampy from his shoulder and yelled a warning to Allen into it. Nurse Yue screamed abruptly and Kisho looked up to see the Broker leaping from her bed, despite her injuries, and approaching him carefully. His eyes locked onto her hands; the woman was clenching a long knife, one much more dangerous-looking than any of the ones Kisho had seen or was currently using. This knife made Kisho feel like he was equipped with butter knives. Even though the woman was advancing on him slowly, the Finder didn't know what to do. If he rushed her, he'd probably get killed. But if he didn't move she'd come anyway and kill him…but she'd said just now she wanted him to go with her. Nurse Yue watched the Japanese woman and stepped away from her as she walked across the room. Kisho spared a moment to nod in her direction; it was no good if she got hurt because no one would be around for the patients. His mind raced and his heart picked up a swift, distressed beat.

What had Toma said? When attacked, stay out of range and don't stop moving…but Kisho's legs were frozen. Without warning, the woman raised her hands and charged at him.

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**The backstory events about the war in this chapter were true—about Taiwan's occupation by Japan around the late 1800's. I changed the dates around a little but I wanted to use a real event that had happened around that time. In D. Gray Man, war means Akuma will show up so it makes sense Allen and Co. would have to go check the city out.**

**And that Broker woman will be showing up more after this. She won't be showing up as much as everyone else but she'll still be important. It'll make more sense later.**

**Thank you for reading!**


	52. Discover

**Discovery**

Allen slashed horizontally through a Level Two Akuma with his sword, then continued the swing, which led him to slash three more Akuma in half. He had been surrounded by four of them, but now they all fell and disintegrated. Breathing a quick sigh he sprinted forward and cleaved another that had been advancing on Lavi, who had just finished off a dozen or so with his fire snake attack. Kanda was slashing Akuma in half with the same spinning technique Allen had used when he'd been surrounded. Allen saw a humanoid Level Three Akuma hovering over Kanda and staring down at the exorcist with sunken black eyes. Its skin was white as a ghost, and black wings sprouted from its back (Lavi had started calling it The Angel of Death). The Akuma appeared to be preparing to dive-bomb Kanda, who was turning now to spot the winged Akuma. Lavi was selecting another fire spell from the seals above his head; Allen transformed his sword back into an arm, tensed his legs, and sprang into the air with his claws ready to slash at the Akuma. Once he did he'd quickly drop out of the way so he wouldn't get in the way of Lavi's attack. Allen kicked off an intact building and shot even higher into the air, but could see that the Akuma was going to attack Kanda before he could and he was still too far away. Kanda was looking up and took in the situation, and raised Mugen, readying himself to meet the Level Three's attack.

Allen was grinding his teeth as he forced his tired muscles past their endurance. He raised his left arm, stretching the claws towards the Akuma, and wished that he could still use his left arm as a cannon. It would be easy to shoot the Akuma out of the air if he could. The exorcist let out a startled and pained yell when his left arm started burning. He shot out his right arm and grabbed onto the edge of the building while he stared at his left arm. He'd willed it to transform into a cannon, and a moment later he saw that it had apparently heard his desire. Allen aimed his cannon-arm up towards where the Level Three was getting ready to drop out of the sky and attack Kanda. Bright white crescent-shaped projectiles streamed through the air and struck the Akuma just as it had folded its wings to dive, causing its wings to freeze up. The flying Akuma began to plummet from the sky, and Allen called out a warning. Kanda looked up, saw the Level Three falling, and swiftly leapt out of the way. Lavi slammed his hammer into the Thunder Seal and a massive bolt of lightning shot from the heavens and ran the Akuma through as it fell. When its body hit the ground, a shockwave issued outwards which caused several buildings to tremble and then start to collapse.

Allen covered his face from the debris, then let go of the building. He let himself go into free-fall a moment before he kicked off of the building and turned himself in midair so his feet were facing the ground. A moment later he touched down and hit the ground running to get away from the building. He caught a glimpse of Lavi gesturing wildly so he changed course for his friend and reached him in seconds. Lavi had made his Anti-Akuma Weapon grow enough so that it would make a shelter of sorts from the flying wood and other debris from the buildings. It only protected them from one side so they had to cover the vital spots on their body, their faces mostly, and hope the buildings would finish collapsing. A moment later the air was quiet and the two leapt to their feet and Allen reached for his left arm, now willing it to turn back into a sword. It shifted from a cannon to an arm and then to a sword as Allen gripped his wrist.

He glanced towards the spot where the Akuma had fallen but didn't see it anywhere. Lavi shot his gaze skyward, then kicked his foot forcefully into Allen's back, which sent the younger exorcist sprawling away just before lethal claws plunged down on the spot where he'd been. Lavi ducked under the Level Three's slashing claws and beating wings, then swung his hammer with all his might. The Akuma avoided the blow and took to the sky again but was punished for it when Allen transformed his arm into a cannon again and didn't waste a moment in firing. A terrible grating cry rent the air as the Akuma reared up and tried to swipe the projectiles out of the air. But wherever the crescent bullets landed on the Akuma, they burned through its skin like acid. Kanda raised his sword and summoned Hell's Insects, which swarmed around the Akuma and attacking any bit of flesh they could get to. The Level Three grabbed one out of the air and ripped at it with its claws, but more appeared and kept tearing at it. Allen, though exhausted and feeling on the verge of passing out, raised his arm one more time and opened fire on the Level Three. The Hell's Insects weren't affected by the attack; the projectiles merely passed through them and struck the Akuma, which caused it to once again shriek its agony into the sky. Lavi's attacks, the insects and the projectiles had finally done their job, and the Akuma slumped forward onto the ground and vanished into black particles which faded as they rose into the air. Allen stopped firing, and Kanda sent the insects away and breathed a sigh. Static crackled through the black Golem in Lavi's breast pocket and he looked briefly startled, then grabbed for it and held it up. "All ears!"

"_Lavi, that female Broker is here!"_ Kisho's voice hollered. Lavi squeezed the Golem and it flapped its wings frantically. Allen knew right away which 'female Broker' Kisho was talking about.

A scream came suddenly from the other end and Lavi stared, his eyes wide. "Kisho! Hey!" He yelled at the top of his lungs into the Golem while Kanda and Allen ran up to him in time to hear the connection suddenly cut off. "Great," Lavi growled, shoving the Golem back into his front pocket. "We should get back there, but Akuma might show up and we shouldn't lead them to the hospital." A shot echoed overhead and Kanda dodged out of the way as a virus bullet struck the ground where he'd been an instant before. Lavi's frown lifted into a grin. "Problem solved. We'll finish them here." Allen lifted his left arm and fired upwards, and several explosions were heard. He saw that there were hundreds and hundreds of Akuma floating down towards them, but that they were only Level Ones. "Good shot, Bean Sprout!" Lavi cheered, and Allen barely heard him as he fired at the Akuma again. Using his Innocence like this was rapidly draining his energy and he didn't know how much longer he could do it. Kanda raised his sword and destroyed some of the Level Ones with Hell Insects. Lavi quickly selected the Fire Spell and sent the fire snake circling in the air far above and incinerating any Akuma it touched instantly. He kept it up even though his energy, too, was waning and a few minutes later the sky was void of any of the Level Ones. Panting, the trio of exorcists took off for the hospital, hoping they would get there in time.

* * *

Timcampy lighted on Kisho's shoulder and clung tightly as he yanked a trench knife from a holster halfway down his thigh and looked up just in time to see the woman's knife inches from him. He twisted away but the woman stabbed at him again, and the blade grazed across his left shoulder. In a split second he recalled being trained about knife combat. An important tactic he learned was to distract his attacker in any way possible. So Kisho grabbed Timcampy from his shoulder and tossed him into the woman's face; she gave an alarmed yell as Timcampy clamped his teeth down on her nose. Kisho darted around to the woman's left side, the side that was her blind spot since she had bandages over her face there, and punched his right fist into the back of her left hand. Her hand opened and the knife fell to the floor with a clatter. Despite having a Golem biting her face, she dove for the knife, but Kisho had lunged to grab it a second before and swept it into his left hand. He gripped both knives firmly in each of his hands and pointed them at her. _I had a chance, _he thought as he glared at her. _I could have killed her. I should have. _The woman froze, stood slowly, and something warned Kisho. He backed off a bit, out of arm's reach, in case she tried to get one of the knives he held. "Don't move!" He shouted, then said evenly, "You called the Earl."

"What will you do about it?" The woman asked in an undertone, then stood up completely and stepped towards Kisho. The patients who were awake watched in stunned silence. The nurse had removed Yu from his bed and she'd retreated far from the Broker and Kisho.

"I said don't move!" Kisho ordered the Broker again, harshly, but she kept advancing. Footsteps thudded up the stairs suddenly, and Kisho almost took his eyes off the woman in case it was someone else he'd have to fight, but he focused on her again when he recognized the voice of Lavi.

"Kisho!"

Allen stood on Kisho's left with his sword raised in his right hand, and Lavi stood on his right holding his hammer, while Kanda held Mugen a foot from the woman's throat, and she finally came to a halt. Her hostile look had vanished, but instead of staring fearfully at Kanda, she was gazing intently at Kisho.

"Kisho," she murmured, glancing at Lavi. "So, you didn't just have the same name as my son."

"What are you talking about?"Kisho asked defensively. Something about her tone had changed; before it had been hostile, and now she looked like she was in a daze. Kanda's eyes flicked briefly towards him before returning to the woman.

"She's the Broker?" Allen asked, and Kisho nodded quickly. "She's the same one from Portugal. The Earl must have already been called by someone, and he brought Akuma." Kisho shot the woman an accusing look but she just kept staring at him, and it was the type of stare that indicated she was seeing something that she couldn't recognize or thought couldn't be real. There was a tense pause. Allen sighed and Kisho looked at him.

"Did you find any other people?"

"No," Allen replied. "We didn't see anyone, dead or alive. Most of the people in the city have taken cover."

"We didn't see any soldiers, either," Lavi put in, and Kisho felt worried, but then wondered if they'd taken cover like everyone else.

"If the Earl retreated, and took any remaining Akuma with him...then it'd be safe, but we can't know for sure." Allen studied the woman and muttered in an undertone, "Let's see if she'll tell us."

"You shouldn't be alive."

"But we are," Allen retorted. "Is the Earl still in the city?" He asked, but the woman didn't answer. "Tell me. Is the Earl still here?"

"That attack should have killed you," the woman said, then murmured so quietly that it was hard to hear her. "Even though he said he'd keep you alive." She moved a little and met Kanda's eyes. "Let me go."

"You're in no position to ask that," Kanda growled, still holding the woman at sword point. Kisho also gave her an angry look and spoke up loudly.

"We shouldn't be alive? Well, we are, no thanks to you!" he snapped. Lavi turned towards Kisho with a frown.

"Has she tried to kill you before?" He questioned.

"No, not that I know of..." Kisho shook his head quickly.

"Enough!" Kanda ordered, looking at them over his shoulder. "What did she mean about keeping you alive?" Kanda asked sharply. "Are you on her side?"

Kisho jumped, looking distraught. "No," he responded. "I don't know her and I don't know what she means."

"Kanda, stop," Allen ordered, and reluctantly, Kanda dropped the subject.

Kanda stepped forward. "Is the Earl here now?" The woman didn't respond and Kanda pressed Mugen closer to her neck. "You'd better answer."

"No," the Broker finally said. Kanda narrowed his eyes and lifted Mugen from her neck, but just slightly. "The Earl's done here. I failed, but he accomplished what he came to do." The Broker looked down at her hands; Kisho thought of the man who'd died as a result of the Akuma attack, and felt a rush of anger. "I doubt he'll…"

"Give you your reward? So he just left you to get killed," Kanda surmised with a grim expression on his face. "Good riddance." Kanda and Allen moved quickly as a dark circle appeared beneath the Broker. Allen grabbed for her hand but the woman had disappeared within seconds of its appearance. The portal vanished as Allen reached it. He held his forehead and mumbled something under his breath, then looked over at Kisho.

"Back then, when she was talking about her son...she meant you." Kisho shook his head quickly.

"I know Shiori's parents weren't really my parents but that doesn't mean she's my real mother." Kisho balled his fists. "She doesn't know what she's talking about!" Kanda shook his head.

"It seems like she does," Lavi put in quietly, and Kanda glared at Kisho but turned sharply away from him and faced Allen.

"We should go check the city for any more Akuma, make sure the people are safe, then leave," Kanda announced. Allen nodded in agreement.

"And let's not mention any of this until we get back," Allen stated firmly. Kanda looked away and Kisho sighed, lowering his head. "It doesn't seem like the Earl's coming back, but this town should be put on radar. If another major attack happened again, we couldn't handle it for long. There are still some Akuma stragglers, but we can take care of them." Lavi turned to Kisho.

"You stay here and help Nurse Yue. We'll be back before you know it." It was hard for Kisho to gather his thoughts back up again after everything that had happened. But Toma had taught him how to get his head straight in times like this, so he took a deep breath through his nose, let it out, and thought about what his duties were. He needed to forget his emotions for now and get to work.

"I'll tell Komui we're almost done," Kisho told them slowly. "If anything goes wrong, retreat if you can. But no matter what, when you get back, come straight to me and I'll treat your injuries." Lavi nodded and tapped Kisho on the head.

"Gotcha," Lavi said, throwing Kisho a grin as he turned and headed swiftly out of the room with Allen and Kanda; Allen glanced over his shoulder at Kisho briefly, and before he could say something Nurse Yue came up and led Kisho away towards the patients.

* * *

An hour later Allen, Lavi and Kanda staggered upstairs. They looked even worse than before, obviously on the verge of over-exhaustion. Allen trudged over to the end of a bed and flopped down onto the floor, completely worn out, while Timcampy flew out of his pocket to rest on his head.

"Well?" Nurse Yue asked carefully. "Is the city going to be safe now? Are more of those things coming back?" It was Allen who responded, sounding out of breath.

"We went all over the town, and there were only a handful of Akuma left and they weren't very strong." The group had been searching for hours after fighting the Akuma. "There aren't any more otherwise they would have shown up. The rest of the people in the city are scared, but we didn't find any people who were injured." Lavi approached the nurse and tried not to stare, but she was pretty.

"Where's Kisho?"

"He's downstairs getting some more supplies, but he should be back soon." She gazed around the room. "And I think we're about done," she explained, going back to checking the young boy named Yu. Because of the child's name Lavi thought he was Kanda's long-lost brother.

"I'm beat," Lavi remarked, then slid down the wall he'd been leaning against and yawned, resting his arms behind his head and letting his eyes close. Kanda walked over to him and roughly nudged his foot, causing Lavi's green eyes to open slowly. "Come on..." he groaned.

"Anything could still happen. Stay awake." At that moment Kisho appeared at the top of the stairs carrying a tray of medical supplies: bandage rolls, washrags in bowls of water, several glasses of water and bottles of medicine. Under the tray, folded up, were some tan-colored blankets. Kisho nodded quickly to Lavi and Kanda as he passed, indicating that he'd seen them, but he didn't say anything. Setting the tray down on a nearby trolley he picked up one of the bowls of water and rushed over to the bed with a young woman in it and placed the cold washrag on her head. This patient had a fever, and though the nurse told him it was going down, the young man was still sweating and dozing restlessly. Then Kisho checked on the young patient, Yu, and made sure he was doing alright; he was still sleeping calmly. Kisho checked to make sure the bandage was clean, then made his way across the room, and a few minutes later had finished.

With a sigh, he headed back over to Lavi and Kanda, trying to keep his mind focused on treating patients and not falling asleep. He wanted nothing more than to just fall down wherever he was and sleep. But people needed his help, and now, Lavi and Kanda needed medical attention. The nurse had checked the rest of the patients Kisho hadn't gotten to and now was treating Allen's injuries. So Kisho headed over to Lavi and Kanda.

"How are you feeling? There are some free beds, so go ahead and use them." Lavi wearily moved his hand in a sign of refusal.

"We aren't supposed to sleep, according to Yuu."

"Shut up." Kisho held up his hands wearily and with more than a little annoyance in his voice addressed the two exorcists sharply.

"I'm not sure how you can still argue in your condition."

"We're not arguing," Lavi laughed. "You'd know if we were arguing. We're just messing around." Kisho smiled wryly, then nodded once.

"If you say so. Let me take care of those cuts." Lavi had a particularly bad one, almost crescent-shaped, in the middle of his forehead, and several large but less serious ones on his arms and face. The Finder picked up the tray and brought it over, set it on the floor between Kanda and Lavi, and got some small strips of bandage and put disinfectant on it and carefully dabbed at the cut on Lavi's forehead after lifting his new dark green headband with white trim out of the way (the previous one had become worn and finally it had fallen off during a fight sometime and had never been seen again). But the redhead seemed happy enough with his new one, though now he was wincing as Kisho wiped the bandage over the cut and then cleaned it out with a washrag that had been dipped in warm water. He dried it with another bandage when he was satisfied that it was completely clean. He put a large bandage on the front of Lavi's forehead and firmly pressed the edges down so it would stay on, then slid Lavi's headband down around his neck and wrapped a long white strip of bandage around his head so that the bandage patch beneath it would be sure to stay on. He tied it quickly, then cleaned the remaining cuts and put smaller bandages over them, then stood to administer first-aid to Kanda. The swordsman glowered down at him but Kisho didn't take the hint to back off.

"I won't take long," he said. "Even if you don't want treatment, you need it." Kanda stepped backwards. "You still have cuts that don't look like they'll getting better anytime soon unless I treat them."

_Whose fault is that? _Kanda thought, but reluctantly let Kisho clean the various cuts on his arms and face and put bandages on and around them. He wrapped the last cut on Kanda's right arm and then sat down against the wall near Lavi's bed.

"You were a good patient for once, Yuu," Lavi remarked. Kisho's mouth tightened, like he was trying not to smile, as he crossed the room and gave Kanda a glass of water, which was taken reluctantly. "You deserve a piece of candy for that." Kanda glared angrily, then closed his eyes and rolled over. Kisho looked at the two exorcists, then got to his feet and stood at the foot of Lavi's bed.

"Get some rest. And I mean close your eyes and sleep, don't get into a fight." Kisho retrieved the two blankets he'd brought, gave one to Lavi, and then approached Kanda and passed the remaining one off to him. The blankets weren't that heavy, since they weren't absolutely necessary in a tropical climate. "I'll stay up and keep watch until you've rested enough." The nurse had finished treating Allen and he stood up and climbed into an empty bed across from Lavi's, but one over from the one Kanda was sitting next to. "We have the Innocence," Kisho explained, "so anytime you are ready, we can go. I called Komui a while ago and he said ferries travel from the capital to mainland China. Nowadays only soldiers come but Komui requested that a ferry be sent to take us back. It'll be here in a day or so."

"You sure that's enough time to rest?" Kisho hesitated, then shrugged his shoulders.

"I haven't really been fighting as much as you, and you're already exhausted. There are beds on the ferry, so we could rest on the way back." Kisho headed towards the stairwell. "I'm going to see if anyone in the hospital needs help." Before Kisho had gotten to the first step to the floor below, Nurse Yue stopped him by touching her hand to his shoulder.

"You need to sleep too. I can tell you're overexerting yourself." She spoke firmly and was gesturing to a bed next to Lavi's, but as much as Kisho wanted to rest he felt a responsibility to make sure everyone was doing alright.

"I can still work," he said, and took a step forward, but felt himself sway a little.

"See?" the nurse asked with a shake of her head. She pointed to the hospital bed. "Go. I'm used to working long hours here. You've helped me a lot already." Kisho wound up giving in when he got a look from the nurse, and clambered into the bed. Kanda climbed onto a bed too after also getting a look from Yue, and then the nurse headed downstairs. When it was just Lavi, Allen, Kisho, and Kanda awake in the room Lavi rolled onto his side towards Kisho, who had curled up under the covers, trying to let his tense mind rest.

"Who was that Broker? She seemed to know you," Yue murmured from the bedside. The recent incident came back to Kisho but he didn't answer for a moment; he was tired and trying to process too many things. He and Nurse Yue had been so busy with patients that the Broker had left his mind, but now he'd been reminded again. The whole thing was really bothering him. She had been looking at him too emotionally for just having seen a stranger. She'd been the same Broker from Portugal who had asked Allen if he knew a Kisho, and Allen had said something that Kisho still didn't believe—that he was the woman's son. It had made sense after she told him their mothers weren't the same person. Kisho knew he didn't look like Shiori or her mother, while Shiori's eyes and hair matched her mother. That female Broker's hair was light brown, almost the same as Kisho's, and it was the same consistency—longer, but thin and stringy.

"I don't know," he admitted to Lavi, folding his arms, then lifting one to rub his head which was aching slightly. "No offense…" he said to Allen, "but I still don't really believe you." The Finder glanced down at the floor. "Even though you met her before and she...told you those things." Allen raised his eyebrows and Yue sensed she should leave and walked quietly away.

"You don't believe me," Allen asked, "or don't want to?"

"I don't know." Kisho looked up uneasily at Allen, then Lavi. "Am I a...traitor?" Allen and Lavi exchanged glances; then looked sharply at Kisho. Kanda appeared to be lying down in his bed, either asleep or ignoring the conversation.

"How should we know?" Lavi asked in an offhand manner. "Have you done anything that would make you one?"

"No. But that woman and I…." Lavi's mouth turned down and he appeared interested as he raised an eyebrow.

"You think you might be related now?" Allen asked, and Kisho looked down.

"I didn't mean you were a liar...I'm sorry. But if she is my mother, she's a Broker. What's that mean about me?"

"Nothing," Lavi answered. "And no one will think anything about it as long as we don't tell them. But Komui needs to know." Lavi looked hard at Kisho. "And he won't think you're with her."

"The fact that she's a Broker doesn't mean you will be too," Allen told him. "At least I hope not," he said with a smile faintly resembling his Poker smile. Kisho promptly shook his head and looked down; that smile was too unnverving ometimes. "So don't worry," Allen told him cheerfully.

"He seems crazy on the surface, but he's actually reliable," Lavi stated, giving Allen a grin. For a moment, Kisho leaned back and closed his eyes, resting. Lavi wondered if he was just tired, or feeling in over his head. "We've earned a little break, so let's take it easy."

"You're right." Kisho lifted his head and stood up. "I still have things to do. I need to get some more supplies. Be right back." He gestured to a few of the empty beds. "Get some rest." Kanda was sitting by the wall, arms crossed, and head leaning forward a little. His eyes were closed and he didn't respond to what Kisho had said, but Lavi stood up and stretched out on top of one of the beds, covering his eyes with his arms.

"Get some rest," Kisho said after a moment. "I'll...come back to check on you soon."

"You don't need to babysit us," Lavi yawned. "Just wake me up when it's time to leave."

"Alright." Kisho stopped at the doorway, staring down the white steps, wanting to say something else to Lavi but found he wasn't able to form any words. Eventually, he trudged down the stairs without a word.

* * *

**So there we go, Kisho learns what Allen knew about the Broker probably, and comes to terms with it, at least a bit.  
I'm going to start a new story for Howling Innocence, but it'll still be the same story, just the last part of it. I'll do that soon. Thank you for reading! Hope you enjoyed it.**


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